She was once involved in a serious car accident, but survived, and now clearly supports good driving - meet Elfaeza Ul-Haq from TV's 'The Pupil'.

Photos: Azfar Hashim

She’s not new to TV. Meet Elfaeza Ul-Haq, the lovely girl-next-door from local MediaCorp Malay TV channel, Suria. Besides acting in television dramas, in her six years in the industry, Elfaeza has also hosted TV shows and presented radio programs.

Not one who’s known to be choosy, it’s apparent that she cherishes any opportunity given to her.

All that hard work has shown its results. To date, Elfaeza is among the few Malay artists from Suria to cross over to MediaCorp's English channel, Channel 5. For now, you can watch her in the legal-eagle drama series 'The Pupil' on Channel 5, alongside more established actors Adrian Pang and Lim Kay Tong.


In this drama, Elfaeza plays Nisa Muhammad Nor, a young, intelligent and steadfast lawyer.

Away from television, Elfaeza recalls a road accident she was involved in just last year. At the time of that accident, she was driving from one filming location to another.

“It all happened in a blink of an eye”, she said. "As the road surface was slippery during a heavy rain, I lost all control of the car and slammed straight into the center divider along the PIE". Although she only suffered some minor whiplash, the car was a total wreck and eventually written off.

Well we heard she has a passion for MINI cars, so we paired this bubbly 20-something to (in her own words) “my realistic dream car”, the MINI Cooper Cabriolet. Read on and see what she has to say about the car and driving in Singapore.

BP: What attracts you so much to the MINI Cooper Cabriolet?

Elfa: I like cars a lot, especially Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Bentleys. But a MINI holds a special place in my heart; especially an open-top MINI! Plus it’s cute, gorgeous and just perfect for a lady.

BP: To you, what is interesting about a MINI?

Elfa: It’s engine, overall shape and colour — it’s so unique. Even from afar, you can never mistake it for anything else. Just one glance and you already know it's a MINI.

BP: After test-driving the MINI Cooper Cabriolet, what is your impression of the car?

Elfa: The MINI has a slightly firm ride, but surprisingly, is still comfortable. The steering is nicely weighted and I certainly feel more involved driving it. However, I do find the car a little jerky — not as smooth as I’ve expected.


But hey, I still love it. Oh, I'll have it in manual though!

BP: For a car, what would be your ideal colour?

Elfa: Has to be either chili red, black or… yellow!

BP: Does the MINI Cooper Cabriolet suit your personality and image?

Elfa: In terms of size, it’s like the Three Bears Theory; not too small and not too big, just right for me. After all, I’m a single working individual who does a lot of running around. I tend to bring my wardrobe along with me, so my car will automatically be my second home. This MINI has a — excuse me for saying this — “cutely-sized” boot that’s adequate for me to store my personal stuff.

I love the fact that I can drive with either the roof up or down in this MINI. Honestly, I enjoy driving with the wind blowing in my face - there's just that unexplainable sense of freedom.

Three words to best describe the MINI Cooper Cabriolet? Cute, cool and sleek… just like me, ha ha!

BP: Describe the way you drive.

Elfa: You know how sometimes when you see a car moving slowly or driven poorly, you go on saying things like “that must be a female driver”? No, I do not drive that way, thank you very much.

Instead, I have been told that I'm a good driver - not your typical female driver. To be frank, I like driving fast whenever it’s possible... But I always, always, always stick to my lane.

And if I ever do own a MINI Cooper Cabriolet, it will be roofless most of the time… whenever the weather permits!

BP: Any pet peeves while on the road?

Elfa: Those who drive very slowly or speed excessively, squeezing in between vehicles and constantly changing lanes — what were they thinking? Seriously, it endangers other road users. These sort of drivers should be kept off the road!

And to those who do not give way even when signals were given - how about being more gracious? The roads are supposed to be shared.