HALIM TELLS IT LIKE IT IS

HALIM Othman has always sounded different. When he was a schoolboy in Terengganu, he was the only one who spoke Bahasa Baku. Now he's known for his American accent--something he gained after 10 years of living in the United States.

And because he speaks differently, this Roda Impian host and Era announcer has been called big-headed. And the nicest comment so far has been a "cool smug.''

"I have my fair share of hate-mail but I take them positively. There's no way you can please everyone, I prefer to leave it as it is,'' says this TV personality who was the compere for Selamat Pagi Malaysia, Prisma and Hello Malaysia on TV1.

This DJ who loves to take jibes at Roda Impian's contestants was recently in Los Angeles on the invitation of Kingworld which produces Wheel of Fortune and The Oprah Winfrey Show.

"It's nice to see how the game show pieced together. It was a good experience especially meeting Pat Sajak,'' says Halim who has hosted some 390 episodes of Roda Impian which is now aired on Astro Ria and TV3.

Halim describes his recent trip as a sort of "homecoming'' as he was in LA for a decade. A student of the School of Architecture at the University of Tennessee, Halim worked there after graduating. He returned to Malaysia in 1993.

Even though Roda Impian is just a copyright version of Wheel of Fortune, it was recently voted "The Best-Looking Game Show for a Small Budget'' at the recent Cannes Film Festival. Halim is very pleased with the track record of the game show and credits the great team work and the brains behind Roda Impian for the series' success.

"The puzzles are intriguing, the prizes are attractive and Abby Abadi certainly adds glamour to the show. Halim Othman is just the traffic cop for the whole thing,'' says the unassuming Halim.

Roda Impian will enter its third season soon and recordings will take place next month.

Doing Roda Impian proves to be an exhilarating experience for Halim. For one, there are certain English phrases which cannot be translated into Malay.

"I love making up new Malay words. It's very tricky and a real challenge if the word catches on. Language is about saying it over and over. And in order for a language to grow, you have to be adventurous with words.''

Halim tried doing this on Roda Impian and so far it has generated a lot of feedback.

"I am not doing this for fame. Doing a game show is one way of contributing to family entertainment. This is one programme that the whole family can enjoy. It's like group therapy.''

But Halim's main task in Roda Impian is putting the contestants at ease and he adopts the casual and warm approach.

"I remember Oprah Winfrey once told Michael Jackson 'Don't be nervous. If you are nervous, I'll get nervous too.' I feel the same way,'' says the upbeat Kerteh-born TV personality.

Someone asked Halim why does it look like he is basking in the limelight.

"You have to feel that way when you do TV shows or when you are on air. It's hard to be in this line if you don't love yourself.

"Even if I get negative comments, I think the majority of them out there like me because I get hundreds of e-mail messages everyday. So I think I am doing quite all right. But then again I shouldn't feel complacent ....''

As Era's announcer, Halim's job requires him to be more personal. He goes on air everyday from 6am to 10am and makes it a point to do air-checks beforehand.

"Air-checks are important to know whether you are on the right track--a kind of check and balance,'' says the announcer who has been in this line for seven years.

Halim has a horde of fans and some fanatic ones too. But he's not telling how lunatic some of them can be.

"My listeners know more about me than my family in Terengganu. They meet you on the street and greet you like they have known you forever. Some of them know me so well that they can even tell when I'm not feeling well.''

For Halim, Era is popular because of the great teamwork and fresh ideas. "We talk about things that people can relate to.''

He adds, "I still come to work when I am not well because I know there is a bunch of friends out there who are waiting for me. That's why I get a lot more energy at the end of the show than at the beginning.''

To excel in this line, one has to enjoy meeting people and love talking.

"You can only pretend to a certain extent, the rest comes from your own personality. Yes, I do talk a lot. I think that's quite natural because people thirst for good conversation. I remember one saying which goes 'some strangers are like friends you've never met.' ''

Asked to comment on Era's unofficial ban on dangdut, Halim says "the ruling comes from the top. Personally I don't have any problems with dangdut. Era plays Hindi music but not dangdut for the same reason we do Shania Twain's but not country songs.''

Halim aspires to have his own talk show one day. The 33-year-old who claims he has the brilliance of a mature man says it's really no big deal to be THE voice or in the limelight.

"At times, I feel I'd rather be behind the cameras, at least I have absolute privacy. But really, we're in dire need of a good talk show and I want to do one to fill the void.'' And why not?

BY ZIEMAN - PUBLISHED 10/5/2000