KUALA LUMPUR: Pop queen Datuk Seri Siti Nurhaliza is once again Malaysia's Most Admired Woman, and this time her male counterpart is the country's pioneer astronaut Datuk Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor Sheikh Mustapha.
Siti, 41, and Dr Sheikh Muszaphar, 48, recently made it to the top of global opinion portal YouGov's Malaysian category, as Malaysia's Most Admired Woman and Most Admired Man respectively.
Siti scored 18.83 per cent in the admiration score. Other Malaysian women in the top 10 list were United Kingdom-based doctor Dr Nur Amalina Che Bakri (10.03 per cent), squash champion Datuk Nicol David (6.76 per cent), and former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's wife Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali (5.86 per cent).
On the other hand, Dr Sheikh Muszaphar scored 10.64 per cent, followed by badminton champion Datuk Lee Chong Wei (8.88 per cent) and Dr Mahathir (8.8 per cent).
The portal involved nominations from 42 countries, between January and March 2020.
Siti and Dr Sheikh Muszaphar thanked everyone who had voted for them.
Siti said that she was thrilled to top the list once again.
"It's an honour to be Malaysia's Most Admired Woman, and I want to thank YouGov and all Malaysians who voted for me.
"I'll continue to do my best in everything and earn the respect of family, friends and fans," she said in a news report today.
Dr Sheikh Muszaphar said: "I'm humbled and honoured to win. Thank you so much Malaysians. Love always."
Last year, Siti was voted the country's Most Admired Woman with 20.01 per cent.
Dr Siti Hasmah came in second with 7.54 per cent.
Dr Mahathir was the Most Admired Man with 16.01 per cent, followed by Dr Sheikh Muszaphar with 9.03 per cent.