The Princess Diaries. Aminah Ibrahim

We met  many years ago, at some random party, and I could never have imagined that this beautiful, easygoing girl happened to be a Malaysian princess. It turned out that I became her brother’s friend more and more (Idris Ibrahim), but I always had a soft spot for Aminah! Always fabulous and super chic.. but at the same time she is truly just the next door girl.. very easy and open minded! So when I called her and said that we were going to launch SPYNEWSMAGAZINE and that we wanted to interview her, she confirmed it right away! Here it is – THE PRINCESS DIARIES!

-My parents actually raised me and my brothers very much like other families do. We did what every normal kids do, we went to normal schools, played with our neighbours and friends from school, we got grounded when we did something wrong and we weren’t that lavish I must admit. Because we were always surrounded with our friends from schools, our cousins and our neighbours we never really bothered with the title or anything. And in a way because of how our parents raised us and how our friends treated us we are more grounded in that sense.

-I still remember the first day I met you and the last day I saw you few years back which was in Bangkok  back in 2011 was it? Oh well, time flies. I didn’t expect things to change so much in just a few years. After high school I went in an Art college in Singapore , La Salle art college, I was doing my foundations, but after 6 months I realised that college life was not really for me. I wanted to start making money so I had a talk with my dad, who is basically my mentor when it comes to business. So my first project was my own cosmetic line, called Luvins cosmetics. The first few months it went very well and sold like hot cakes. But it was my first business and I was still very new  when it comes to contracts and trusting people. I trusted my partner too much. She took advantage of the business and basically took all our sales money and ran away… I was so lost and didn’t want to do anything for a while. About a year later my dad gave me an idea of opening a fast food joint, but I brushed it off and basically took a year or so doing nothing… I was trying to figure out what I really wanted to do. My father wasn’t too happy with me doing nothing so he hired me to work for his company as a part time. I still work for him part time. Then I realised: ok I’m going to take a risk and do something what other people won’t expect from someone who loves fashion. I decided to franchise/open Mcdonalds. So I did the training to be the franchisee. Unfortunately, Mcdonalds has very strict rules, they require you to be in the restaurant for more than 8 hours a day, everyday for at least a year. With my kind of lifestyles I couldn’t commit to it so that mission went down the drain. Suddenly I received an email from KFC. The company was interested to have me as their franchisee because they heard about how I wanted my fast food joint to look like and where I wanted to locate it (prime location in jb by the sea). Things went really well and my KFC was launched in 2013. I was very involved in the architecture designs. We made it very modern and we extended the seating area on stilts over the water which was the first of its kind in Malaysia to ever be done for KFC. In one year we have become the top KFC in Malaysia.

– My new project now is being part of the JBIFC (Johor Bahru International Festival). We are trying to bring in as many art festivals including music in Johor Bahru. Our first project was just a few days ago. It was Jazz Fest 2015. It was jazz concert that lasted for 3 days. We had Steve Thornton, Mezzatono and the legendary Sadao Watanabe. It was a huge accomplishment for Johor especially since it was our first ever event. It went beyond our expectation. In the next few months we will have our classical music events, food festivals, Johor history festivals and plays.

-Another new project of mine is an opening of a  small Melbourne style coffee shop. I always wanted that, something cosy with a great coffee smell when you enter the cafe…

I’m involved in any charity event thats thrown in my way. We do random visits to hospitals in Johor for the kids with cancer and we are also involved in helping children with disabilities.

 My only taboo is the social media. I have to make sure my privacy is on point. I’m very picky with who I let in, only friends and close friends are allowed!

-I am in love.. but I’m not married yet and its something I want to keep within my close circle till its official (smiling).. But I will let you know for sure!

-Oh the wardrobe…. its either an OCD sight or a jungle at times LOL. I must admit ever since my brother was diagnosed with liver cancer I looked at life very differently. I realised that all these things would not really give you that much happiness or the feeling of being complete at heart. May be for some people it does, but not for me.I used to buy huge number of shoes and handbags, but now I keep it to a minimum. Its a bit too late now since I’m literally running out of space (laughing). BUT i did give away and sold a huge amount of handbags and clothes. The money I used  for the Foster Kids Charities.

-I’m a big collector of Christian Louboutin. I do not know if to consider it good or bad (laughing), I guess good since I got noticed enough to be invited for the Met Ball event in NYC. My favourite couture pieces would have to be my Herve L. Leroux dress collection. Thy are simply amazing!! Apart from them its my little collection of Hermes Birkin. I don’t have that many but each and every one of them was specially picked by my dad so it has sentimental value to me. I’m such a daddy’s girl. It means more to me that its from him than the brand itself.

– Luxury to me is first and for most HAPPINESS! What’s the point of being somewhere lovely and beautiful if you don’t feel happy inside? It’s like being in a luxurious president suite with candles and bubble bath BUT crying over something heartbreaking… So yes, luxury to me is happiness. . Even just standing by the beach, fresh coconut in hand, watching the sea and feeling wonderful… This is priceless.

-I have a huge respect for my religion and my faith so anything that makes me feel wrong inside or wrong in other people’s eyes in Malaysia, I will not pursue it. For example, launching my own night club or bar….

I am in love with interior designs… Who knows, I might open my own furniture shop since it came to my mind already.