Qadeem Zieman | My Biodata

THIS IS QADEEM ZIEMAN

WHO AM I?

Qadeem Zieman is a pen/stage name of which I was advised to use after my mother’s passing in late 2021. I was born on the 11th of December of 2003 to a Malay-Indian family, and was given the name Qadeem Shaher… a name that my mother got the inspiration from after meeting an Iraqi classical singer, Kadim Al-Sahir in 2003 in Genting Highlands on one of her assignments. My mother, Fauziah Mohd Johar was professionally known as Zieman in her career as an opinionated and somewhat controversial entertainment journalist, lyricist, judge, and critic. I can say that I caught the interest in writing from being raised single-handedly by her, she was also quite well-known for being a writer of the Malay gossip column ‘Kakaktua’ under an online portal that she founded in 2005, MStar Online and as a blogger herself to her own sites ‘I Am Zieman’, ‘Zieman Is Here’, ‘Zieman The Star’, and ‘Kolum Kakaktua’. All 4 of which are still available to view today. 

 

I began my career as a model at the age of 3, and then a singer at the age of 7 where I performed at a hotel lobby almost on a regular basis, whereas I started writing while I was still in primary school at the age of 12. I had a blog named ‘Love, Qadeem’ where I used to write about my opinions on the current issues, and in the year 2016, at the age of 12 going 13, I was approached by one of the heads of a well-known e-hailing company, GRAB to set up a workshop for the female staff on how they should dress to appear more professional at work after reading several posts on my blog. I was also offered to be a host for a cooking show affiliated with a local leading Malaysian paste manufacturer and supplier, Awang Brand after the owner Puan Sharifah read the article I wrote about their then brand ambassador, Datuk Chef Zam. And in the same year, I was appointed as the ambassador of a small independent perfume line, Min Perfumes for 3 years until 2018. 

Whereas on my 13th birthday, I ventured into the business field to launch a cosmetic line with my mother, funding the release of a range of 5 shades of liquid lipsticks under the branding Ghulam by QS. The year 2017 was the year when I became an active full-time writer on my blog, covering events and functions, interviewing well-known figures of the entertainment industry such as Maria Tunku Sabri, Datuk Dr Chef Wan, Datuk Nora Ariffin, Datuk Zainal Abidin, and some others including writing to help promote independent businesses along the lines of Awang Brand, iNora, Fatihah Frozen Food, Tilak’s Silk Saree House, HalalZoom, Naomiyien Cosmetics, ShinjuPearls and many others. I was also invited to write food reviews at hotels and restaurants. 

Unfortunately, things didn’t go so well in the year 2018 when I had to delete all of my social media accounts as well as my blog, and eventually had to drop-out of High-School (SMK Sultan Abdul Samad Petaling Jaya) on the first day of school in 2019 to care for my sick mother, as we were faced by a misfortune where we almost lost our home due to unpaid debts, which led to her being diagnosed with stroke twice, and a minor Parkinson’s disease in 2020 to her death in December of 2021 whilst undergoing Chemo-Dialysis treatment. 

 

MY WRITING JOURNEY

It has become almost like a daily routine for me to write more and more poems and anecdotes, day by day… especially after losing my mother on my 18th birthday. 

Therefore, in 2022, I had decided to publish my English poetry book in Singapore titled ‘Poetries Within Emotions’, where I let go of all my frustration, anger and sadness, which led to me being hired to work as a part-time writer and editor at a leading fashion house, Cosry Group. 

Then I restarted my writing career last year in the mid of 2023 after breaking up with my 

Italian lover who was 24 years my senior, by re-doing my blog this time it’s named ‘This Is Qadeem Zieman’. My first several posts were about me explaining my complex and colorful failed love life through anecdotes and poems, then I moved on to writing about my own experiences through life such as dealing with a ‘snake’ (A Snake with Numerous Heads), growing up without a father (Which One Should a Man Prioritize), and many more. 

 

I caught the eye of an Argentinian film producer and writer, Omar Beretta who was intrigued by my looks and writings, after reading my articles ‘The Innocence in Kids Are Fading Away’, ‘The Hypocrisy of Religious Folks’, and ‘Parents, They Could Only Do So Much’, and gave me an idea to start floating my articles to local media outlets. Then came 2 of my mother’s former colleagues from The Star Publications, Professor M. Krishnamoorthy and Simrit Kaur and introduced me to an online platform, Newswav.com, a site where I publish my articles about the current issues and my personal opinions, a few of the most read articles of mine are ‘Opinion: Is It Wrong for Malays to Speak in English?’, ‘Ageing is Something to Be Proud of, Embrace It!’, and ‘Rates Are Getting Higher, While The Service Worsens | Is It The End of Grab’s Era?’ 

I can say that I am quite fond of writing reports, especially when it is writing on something that could potentially contribute a positive impact on the society… I love meeting up with people of different communities, and it excites me to hear their stories and bring back materials to the table for me to write with, to hopefully bring a different flavor to the people’s minds on certain issues, such as racism, religions, unity, and other concerning topics. 

 

As a member of the entertainment industry, I had also recorded a few numbers of songs in the past such as Ramadan (an Indonesian religious-dangdut song), Mengapa (a song of which was written by my mother for a band, LovingBorn), Pada Malam, and Golden Child. Aside from that, I am also working on an orchestra version of ‘Pada Malam’, a song that was written and composed by a Malaysian producer, Rosli Ahmad. 

I had gone through phases of hell in the past few years, that has made me more than grateful than ever to still be breathing today. 

From a striking thunder of poverty which left me with only RM0.07 in my bank account, despairing betrayals by my own family members, the tuneless rejections that I had received from the media, to the confusing dilemmas that challenged my inner faith and made me tearfully questioned my purpose of living in this world. All those factors have inspired me to continue writing even more, and I am currently working on an autobiography.