I was reading a local entertainment paper the other day and came across a story about Zaiton Sameon, the singer who was famed after her song Menaruh Harapan in the early nineties.



That song was and always be stuck in my head (and many more who was born in the late 70s or early 80s. It was a sad song, like most Malay songs, but her vocals and how she sang it was truly memorable. It was as if she really sang the words like she meant it, and that was the time when her singing career truly prospered.I don't remember exactly how long she was in a coma after the incident, but i think it was quite some time. She got well, but was reported by the media to be mentally unstable (who wouldn't be, she had lost her son?) soon after. I remember an excerpt reporting "she kept calling out to her son when she woke up from her coma." which i find deeply saddening and to a point, disturbing.

Even so, her singing career was not without its controversies (which was considered hot at that time);

i.She wore a sexy Jungle Jane costume and her duet, Fareez, ex husband of Noraniza Idris, a Malay Classic singer at a dinner event.

ii.Rejected songs made by A.Ali for her second album because she said his songs were meant for dangdut, even though A.Ali made her the songs that made her famous in the first album. One of the songs was given to another singer, Rohana Jalil, which made her famous. The song name was 'Rayuanku'.

iii.Slapped a public relations officer under her label FGM on reasons that are unknown.

iv.Wore a thin sexy dress while dipping in a pool in her most famous song's video clip 'Menaruh Harapan' for 1987's Juara Lagu.(Unfortunately the video clip at Youtube's embedding script has been disabled by request)

So I was dumbfounded, although was not entirely surprised when the paper reported that after the tragic accident that claimed the life of her son and left her in a coma for many years after, her luck in life has not really changed. Her life is in ruins nowadays. Her singing career gone down the drain, broke, old and left by everyone (including her family) She is now staying with her best friend, who takes care of her, who is also about her age.She now earns a living occassionally by singing at village weddings.