If you’ve been anywhere near Malaysian social media in 2026, you already know the arc: Muar MP Syed Saddiq proposing to actress-singer Bella Astillah atop Mount Kinabalu in the pouring rain, an engagement ceremony livestreamed nationwide, and even Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim publicly ribbing the couple about the wedding invitation.
It’s the kind of pairing Malaysians can’t keep their eyes off of. Politics meets entertainment, both parties famous in their own right, and now, increasingly, a shared family life playing out at triathlon finish lines.
But behind the headlines and the hashtags (#BellaSyedYes), both halves of this couple have genuinely interesting educational stories. We’ve got one a record-breaking debater who twice turned down Oxford, and a performer who built a media career while still in her teens.
Syed Saddiq’s education
Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman definitely was gearing up for a life in public service long before he ever ran for office.
He earned a law degree from the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), but it was on the debate circuit where he became a genuine phenomenon.
He also famously holds the record for the highest-scored ESL (English as a Second Language) debater in the history of the World Universities Debate Championship, and was crowned Asia’s Best Speaker at the Asian British Parliamentary Debating Championship three separate times, alongside titles across the Cambridge and Oxford Inter-Varsity debate circuits.
Interestingly, Saddiq was offered a place at the University of Oxford to pursue further study — and turned it down. Twice.
The first rejection came in 2017. He was offered a spot to study a master’s degree in Public Policy, but he stated that his heart belonged to local political and national reform.
Then, in 2018, he turned down a conditional Chevening Scholarship for the same master’s programme. This time, he cited his duty as the newly elected Member of Parliament for Muar to represent the people’s voice in Parliament.
View this post on Instagram
Bella Astillah’s education
Bella Astillah, born Dayang Ara Nabellah binti Awang Astillah in Sandakan, Sabah, had a very different trajectory.
Her entertainment career started in childhood, performing alongside her sister well before most people finish secondary school.
She went on to study at UNITAR International University (still called Kuala Lumpur Metropolitan University College at the time), balancing tertiary studies with an increasingly visible profile as a singer, actress, and model.
Here, she studied for a Diploma in Broadcasting and Film.
Bella Astillah has two children from her previous marriage that Syed Saddiq is now very close to as well. Source: Bella Astillah and Syed Saddiq
The education of their blended family
Bella has two children from her previous marriage to singer-actor Aliff Aziz: Ayden Adrean, 9, and Ara Adreanna, 6. Since Syed Saddiq entered the picture, the kids haven’t just gained a stepfather-to-be, but also his sport.
Saddiq is a serious endurance athlete outside of politics, having completed the full 226km IRONMAN Malaysia distance in Langkawi, clocking 12 hours 22 minutes as part of a fundraising challenge for community initiatives in Muar.
And now, his personal discipline has become a full family activity. At the IRONMAN Malaysia and IRONMAN 70.3 Langkawi weekend, both Ayden and Ara competed in the IRONKIDS aquathlon and fun-run events.
By the time the family turned up at the International Sunrise TriFest in Desaru in 2026, Ayden competed in the boys’ 10–12 Super Sprint Triathlon, Ara made her triathlon debut in the girls’ Under-7 KiTS Aquathlon, and Bella herself competed for the very first time as part of a relay team that finished third in the Olympic Distance Female category. Saddiq, for his part, completed his third consecutive 113 Triathlon (a 2.25km swim, 90km cycle, and 21km run) in just over five and a half hours.
Saddiq has spoken about what the shift from personal challenge to family tradition means to him, saying that seeing Ayden race again, Ara make her debut, and Bella join the event for the first time made the experience “far more meaningful” than any of his solo finishes.
Outside of their sporting activities, young Ayden and Ara are likely attending private school. The details of their schooling are kept under wraps for their own protection and privacy.
There are a number of international schools in Kuala Lumpur with good sporting programmes and facilities to support the interest of the kids.
These include:
- Garden International School
- International School of Kuala Lumpur (ISKL)
- Nexus International School Malaysia (Putrajaya)
- Mont Kiara International School (M’KIS)
More schools nowadays are offering students different pathways to being excellent, not just academically and through exam-based learning. There are those, like Syed Saddiq, who may be able to excel in sports and academia. But there are those, like Bella Astillah, who choose to excel through performing arts.
Popular stories
So you want to work at an aquarium? Here are 5 careers and what you can study for them
You were worried taking a gap year will ruin your chances of going to uni, so we checked
You were worried tuition-free universities aren’t good, so we checked
Nobody thought I, once homeless, could make it into a private school
