I don’t like to suck up to people, as in go there and tell them, ‘Oh, did you wait very long? I’m really sorry to keep you waiting.’ I’m not that type lah. I will just say, ‘Thank you for supporting me.’ That’s the most I feel is appropriate for me ‘cos I’m not that type.
I wasn’t all out to garner votes. I was just too much of being myself. But I’m glad that I left because I was myself. I wouldn’t want to be someone else.
…I can never be an Idol. I’m too hardcore, I’m too rough… I’m not clean enough, not safe enough.
…If I lie to myself, that’s when I really get pissed. That’s what I really don’t wanna do. I want to be me. What I seek, what I do, I wanna breathe me.
…I hope that the contestants would be a lot more sincere. All the love, the smiles and stuff, some of it may be strategic, some of it may be genuine… We mingle a lot, but somehow I feel that some of them aren’t exactly sincere about it. I hate the feeling.
That’s why I’m kind of relieved to leave the competition also. I sincerely cannot take all this kind of act.
(Rahimah Rahim, quoted from She’s hit rock bottom)
I hadn’t heard of Rahimah Rahim before I came across the above article while searching the MediaCorp TV website to see if the Liverpool vs. Chelsea Community Shield match would be televised on Channel 5. As of this writing, I still haven’t seen or heard any of her performance.
Yet, I don’t need to hear her sing to admire her. It is not her singing that I respect of her, but her strength of character. What do I mean? The above article says it all: she’s kind of an Outsider, and I think Meursault/Albert Camus, Howard Roark/Ayn Rand and Colin Wilson would agree.
I say kind of because a true Outsider would never seek to be the Singapore Idol in the first place. He would never seek the praises and acceptance of man, but live for truth – and that alone would be good enough for him.
Full credit to her though, for she tries to live like that. As the writer of the article said, she stands for honest truth. Not fame, not love, not money – but truth. A man of lesser character would seek fame, power, love of man and riches. Not her. Just truth will do, thank-you-very-much. Yes, she’s also got a bit of Thoreau in her…
My dear Rahimah, for the sake of living consistently according to your principles, for the sake of living life first hand and not second, for the sake of being true to yourself and your values, I’m glad you’ve left the competition. For if you had not, you’ll only face the temptation to win the approval of man stronger and stronger each week – i.e. the temptation to lose your soul to gain what cannot satisfy you.
Do not compromise. Live your life as who you are, live your life true to yourself. The world may not like what they see in you. They may even end up disliking you, hating you. But if you stand firm and live an authentic life, you will win in the end…
you’ll probably never know whether she is really the Outsider. who actually lives the live of the Outsider? I.M.O, Rahimah’s comments could be merely an expected hit back at the competition she lost in because there is no need to judge the Singapore Idol competition so harshly unless you’re bitter about it.