Since it was announced on January 1st, the first AKB48 sister group in Malaysia has been steadily preparing for its debut this August. As part of its preparations, KLP48 has officially announced that former member of AKB48 and SKE48, Jurina Matsui, will be working with KLP48 as a player manager.
Since the formation of AKB48 and throughout the entire 19-year history of the AKB group, Jurina Matsui is the sole recipient of the title of ‘Winner of the International Senbatsu General Election’ in which members from AKB48, SKE48, NMB48, HKT48, NGT48, STU48, JKT48, BNK48, and TPE48 all participated.
A total of 3,836,652 votes were cast in the ‘International Senbatsu General Election’ from all across the world. Following a fierce contest, Jurina Matsui managed to come first with 194,453 votes.
Ever since Ms. Matsui became the youngest ever person to be chosen as part of a senbatsu in 2008 at the age of ’11 years and 228 days’, she has continued to play a central role at the heart of the AKB48 group. Leveraging the wealth of experience she gained up until her graduation from the group in 2021, she can be expected to share great insights with KLP48.
The auditionees are currently approaching the final stages of the selection process, which began with a public audition in February 2024. For more information, visit the KLP48 official website here.
