HANNAH TAN VENTURES INTO THE LAND OF THE RISING SUN

Home-Grown Youth Icon Will Live The Malaysia Boleh Spirit!

KUALA LUMPUR, 10^th December 2008 – The first ambassador for Animax Asia and Malaysia’s first World Congress of Information & Technology (WCIT ’08) is proud to be a Malaysian. Announcing her move to Japan in 2009, TV Host/Singer/Songwriter/Actress/Entrepreneur Hannah Tan reveals her plans for the decade-end in a press conference at contemporary Japanese restaurant SOMO Mont Kiara.  

Despite the recent success of her pioneering community service initiative – ‘H’ Factor Nationwide Creative Youth Workshop – as well as a string of both academic and non-academic achievements, Hannah Tan is far from resting on her laurels. A Valedictorian, Merit-Scholar and graduate in Computer Science, Hannah acquired her first of two music Diplomas at the age of 13 and also represented her home state Penang as an athlete for the 100m sprint, hurdles and relays. In 2002, she represented Malaysia in the Miss Global Petite World Finals in Montreal where she won Second Runner Up and the “Miss Congeniality” subsidiary title. Voted by FHM as Malaysia’s sexiest woman in 2006, Hannah has also proven her versatility on television by hosting the 2007 Anugerah Skrin award-winning reality series “What Women Want” (8TV), “Motorsports@Petronas” (Astro Super Sports) and “Ringgit Sense” (TV3) among many others. On the music front, her first Single In Between was already fourth on the Hitz.fm and No. 1 on the X-Fresh charts during the first week of its release before finally winning an award in the Best Pop/Dance category at the 2006 Hitz.fm MET10 Awards. Being the first Malaysian celebrity to appear on the cover of Lime and Shape magazine, it is evident that this multi-talented lady is setting the precedence for youths across the country to go the extra mile in making the difference with whatever they have. Her tagline – “Making the difference”.

It doesn’t take a genius to see why the Malaysian pop-culture society looks up to this 27-year old as their role model and icon. The all-rounder has never stopped challenging herself to go against the odds to strive for excellence and make the difference in all her endeavours. This year, besides single-handedly juggling between building her 10-month old company profile, the HANNAHTAN brand and its support team, MSC status acquisition, her self-produced 2^nd album and the ‘H’ Factor community service initiative on top of her TV Hosting, emceeing, singing and acting gigs, this Wonderwoman was also diligently strategizing for the regional expansion of her base. 

“The business expansion to Japan will be a paradigm shift for me as I challenge myself to share the government’s vision of building the K-economy, which involves the proper application of knowledge and ICT amongst other things. Instead of waiting on the government to spoon-feed us with the corresponding information and infrastructure to build the relevant skills, why don’t we take the proactive option of acquiring what we can by maximizing our existing resources, regardless of how insignificant others may think it is? It doesn’t hurt to start small but it hurts to think small. Visionaries like Zang Toi, Datuk Jimmy Choo and Datuk Michelle Yeoh have already paved the way for Malaysia’s global visibility within the creative content and entertainment industry. The power to make the difference for our country is not just in the hands of our political leaders. It’s in each and every one of us. Just like an enzyme, it catalyses the reaction, but what we choose to do with it is entirely up to us.”

“There’s so much to learn from Japan as world leaders in digitech innovations and now, entertainment. With the new wave of anime spreading across Europe and US, it is only evident that Asians have what it takes to lead in that sector. Malaysia being an Asian hub for creative content and entertainment is not impossible, yet it isn’t going to happen overnight. By doing what we can as individuals, we can make the difference for our country, one contribution at a time. I pray that more young Malaysians will undertake the challenge of equipping themselves as the K-generation, and consequently strive to contribute to Malaysia’s GDP in whatever way we can.” 

Hannah will continue to communicate with her fans which she calls her online family, through her blog on www.hannahtan.com which is personally updated on a regular basis. In the near future, her online family will not only be able to follow her life virtually and chat with her live, but also download her music, ring-tones, e-vouchers and more goodies via the website. Her parting gift to the Malaysian fans, a personally written/composed song, ‘Indah’ (also her first Malay song, lyrics translated by Pot Amir) will be made available for free download on www.hannahtan.com from today. 

Although Hannah will be spending most of 2009 and 2010 in Tokyo for music and entertainment as well as new business developments, she is committed to fulfilling her promise to the Malaysian youth by making the ‘H’ Factor Nationwide Creative Youth Workshop an annual affair. Corporate companies and brands are encouraged to be a part of this youth development initiative by contributing funds to drive the campaign and enable it to be opened to the less affluent kids throughout the country for free. The official ‘H’ Factor website is www.h-factor.info. On the other hand, her Malaysian PR Consultancy, MediaBond PR can be contacted at +6013 – 209 1111.

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For further information or to arrange an interview/photo shoot with Hannah Tan, please contact: 

HANNAH TAN SUPPORT TEAM

Mobile: +6013 – 209 1111 (PR Consultancy – MediaBond PR)

Mobile: +6019 – 356 1111 (Talent Bookings & Administrative Support)

Mobile: +6013 – 356 1111 (Fan Club & People Network)

Mobile: +6012 – 299 9835 (Webmaster & Web Content Editor)

Phone: +603 – 2166 6544 (Japan Liaison)

Fax: +603 – 7955 0355

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Website: www.hannahtan.com