Yuna

"Savages" Los Angeles Premiere - Arrivals

Yuna in 2012, photo by Prphotos.com

Birth Name: Yunalis binti Mat Zara’ai

Place of Birth: Alor Setar, Kedah, Malaysia

Date of Birth: 14 November, 1986

Ethnicity: Malay, Bugis

Yuna is a Malaysian singer, songwriter, and businessperson.

Her parents are from Perak. Her father, The Hon. Justice Dato’ Mat Zara’ai bin Alias, was the Pahang State Legal Advisor, and is a Judicial Commissioner at the High Court of Johor Bahru. Her mother has Bugis ancestry. She was raised in Kelantan, Penang, Ampang, Subang, and then Perlis.

Yuna is married to Malaysian director Adam Sinclair. Adam is the brother of actor Ashraf Sinclair and actress and television host Aishah Sinclair; Ashraf was married to singer and actress Bunga Citra Lestari, until his death.

She is a Muslim, and wears a hijab during performances.

Yuna has said that she is a descendant of Raja Abdullah bin Raja Jaafar on her mother’s side. Raja Abdullah was the son-in-law of Abdul Samad of Selangor, who gave him authority to rule over Klang in 1866.

Source: Interview with Yuna about her background – https://thenutgraph.com

5 Responses

  1. aiseeyah says:

    there’s a small mistake, it was ashraf who was married to bunga until his death in 2020, not adam

  2. aiseeyah says:

    Yuna is Bugis on her mother’s side. According to her, she’s a descendent of Raja Abdullah (the administrator of Klang).

    https://thenutgraph.com/yuna-on-being-%E2%80%9Cmalay-malay%E2%80%9D/

    • Mixed Kidd says:

      So Indonesian should be added in the tag too or is she just Malay?

      • aiseeyah says:

        no, indonesian is a nationality, but a bugis tag should stay since she’s stated as much.

        her bugis ancestors moved to what is now malaysia from sulawesi probably around the early-mid 1700s. for the most part, most (if not all) malays who are of bugis descent from that wave of immigrants (from what is now indonesia, but was previously distinct polities) to johor have largely assimilated into wider malaysian malay society.

  3. Mixed Kidd says:

    correction: Her birth name is Yunalis binti Mat Zara’ai and she is the daughter of Dato’ Mat Zara’ai bin Alias. (could you bold her ethnicity also?)

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