My Insights on Amber Chia

One of Malaysia's biggest stars/ known celebrities is undoubtedly Amber Chia. 

Many hate the idea of her being so well known. Many argue that she has cheapened her worth by accepting every other job on the market, thus causing her sellability to be low amongst the big guns. 

And it does seem to be the case doesn't it? Everywhere you walk and turn, its unavoidable to see her face plastered across posters that would be advertising anything from printers to skincare to blogshops. 

But what bugged me a little, was despite the obvious hate most of the public seemed to have towards her, when I spoke to a few of her counterparts, most seem to have nothing but respect towards her. 


I'm talking about 'celebs' (I try to not to use that word and I don't consider most in Malaysia to be that really but its just easier to get the message across) and business owners, people whom have a respectable reputation, who actually know her, hang out with her. 


They don't agree with her marketing tactics 100%, but they also admit that its undeniable it worked for her. Whereas many in Malaysia would maybe have heard of Daphne Iking, maybe have heard of Carmen Soo, maybe have heard of Harith Iskandar... every Malaysian I know has heard of Amber Chia.

All of them do not deny that Amber is hardworking, dedicated, and passionate to succeed. She may not be the brightest individual around, but she's someone who's determined to make it big, and takes up whatever opportunity she can get to achieve her goals. Which is why she ends up taking every single job she's offered, and attends almost every single event she's invited to.


When I spoke to her over lunch last week at the Amber Chia and Dato Anna Lim Grooming Workshop (next blog update), I decided to put aside all my previous biasness and study her as I would with any individual I had just met. 


My close friends all know that I'm someone who analyses people from the moment I set eyes on them; throughout my conversation with them. It takes me less than 5 minutes to analyse most individuals, though of course a longer, deeper conversation helps fill in the gaps. I won't tell you I think I'm always right, but lets just say I trust my own instincts more than anyone elses, and it hasn't failed me so far. 


So in Amber's case, what I saw was very simply... A typical semi-helpless female who has just enough smarts and determination to make it big. But who isn't good with paperwork, legalities, administration etc., and always hands it over to someone who can do it for her. 
She's a very trusting individual who is blur enough to put up with almost any annoying characteristic, so long the person is her friend who's nice to her (seen from her interactions with some people whom I would never be able to stand). 


I know so many chicks (and several dudes come to think of it) around me who are exactly like that. 
Its just that they aren't a public figure who's every action is scrutinized and criticized by the public eye. 


Her relationship with her husband Adrian Wong is a typical example.
When Amber got married, articles either stated that he's her talent manager, or he's a business owner. I haven't really followed the news but here's the real situation. 

Pic from amberchia.com

He's a business owner with a legal background (studied law and practised for a few years but deicded to come out to run his own business instead). When he and Amber first started dating (about two years ago) Amber immediately chucked all negotiations of her contracts to him.It was easy for her, and she was lucky enough to have a boyfriend who wasn't out to con her. He would definitely have been able to get away with it, since she really didn't care much for paperwork and details. 


And since she didn't want any publicity on her relationship with him, every time he went to events with her she introduced him as her manager. Since whenever they wanted to negotiate contracts she'd pass the phone to him anyway, it seemed like the perfect cover up story. 


He still continues to help her negotiate her contracts. The Ford Supermodel fiasco? The husband was in the picture, but she decided to just trust that friend, and not get into too much paperwork, as per her personality.


So is he her manager? Yes and no la. You decide. 
Is she dumb? Yes and no too. 

Yes, she doesn't care about details. She delegates that responsibility out if she can. But I don't think that makes her stupid. I have friends exactly like that, and it annoys the hell outta me if the person expects me to handle it all for them. But she gets either her boyfriend/ husband to do it for her, or pays someone to do it.
I've also met people who are seriously stupid and from my conversation with her, I don't lump her in that category. 

Why do I think that? Take her English for example. Yes, its still atrocious. Yes, its annoying. But she always confidently puts together a sentence without halting at ALL. Listen to her speak in public and cringe, but know what I mean. Something I find quite amazing for her level of English. She has no trouble catching on to what I say, which is also quite surprising as many Chinese speaking people I know need me to speak in simpler English or throw in Mandarin to make the conversation easier to undertand. I deliberately threw in some mid level vocabs through our conversation but she had no problem catching on at all. 


As for rumours of her being a slut, I don't think she is one either. Before Adrian, she was with her ex-boyfriend for 10 years. They broke up in 2006 and she got together with her now husband in 2008. And knowing girls like her, she's not the strong type who would go around cheating on her boyfriend. She's more like one of those girls that are terrified their guy will dump them.


What I do think she is is one of those annoying girly girls who can't drive a car properly and hopes someone does everything for her. 


She herself admits, one of the reasons why she adores her husband is that he's capable, and does almost everything she can't do. 

Computer technical problem? He helps fix it. Car broke down? He comes to the rescue. All forms of documentation? He helps handle.

Someone send me an Adrian Wong. 

So there you have it. My personal analysis of who Amber Chia really is. 

I don't claim to know her very well. I certainly don't see her as a friend, and I have no intention of even acknowledging her presence at the next event I'll see her at as I don't assume she'll remember who I am even though we've met at countless events and dealt with one another and also spent a whole day working together (yes, the selective memory of a celeb). 

Look at how thin she is. Even at 7 months and 3 weeks preggers. Sigh. Do you know she eats a LOT? One of those naturally skinny girls. For that, we should really hate her.

What I only intended, was to give my personal and (I hope) fair analysis. Not a starstruck one, just because she was nice to me at an event, nor a hate filled one just because she showed her dumbness at another. 


I figure every person deserves as much. 




Note: In case you missed it (which I don't know how you could have really) the above is of my own opinion and is in no way an official representation of Amber Chia and co.