"STACY" Gets Royal Welcome

KOTA KINABALU: Akademi Fantasia 6 winner Stracie Angie Anam was given a rousing welcome home yesterday.

Over a hundred fans, family members and friends turned up at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport to welcome the 18-year-old, the first Sabahan to win the popular Astro talent search reality show."My goodness, I didn't expect such a big welcome. I'm surprised and very thankful," beamed the part-time singer.She was mobbed by fans, who were kept back by her entourage, and posed for pictures and signed autographs before being ushered into a car to be taken to a hotel in the city centre.Fans were at the airport as early as 9am, and they waited for more than an hour before she emerged.Among the throng who greeted Stracie, better known as Stacy, were her former band mates from the group Rimba."I can't wait to go home and spend time with my family. I missed Sabah. There's just no place like home," she said.Her mother Agnes said she expected life at home would change now. Stacy, the fifth of her six children, will be far busier because of her newfound stardom."But I don't mind. I'm so happy she has achieved what she has set her heart on. She worked hard," Agnes said.
The first thing the family plans to do with Stacy's winnings is to renovate the family home in Kampung Tuavon, Penampang.Her parents are retirees.Stacy beat finalist Mohammed Idris Mohd Zaizizi (Riz) for the AF6 title.She received prizes worth RM733,734, including a four-room bungalow in A Famosa, Malacca, a Peugeot 307 XS from Naza Motors, RM25,000 cash from Hotlink, holiday packages, a Sony Playstation sponsored by Astro and the AF6 trophy.