KUALA LUMPUR, July 27 — A new international girl group has debuted in Malaysia!

Introducing KLP48!

A sister group to the popular Japanese mega girl-group AKB48, KLP48 is the latest addition to the family, making it the 13th international affiliated group to debut.

AKB48 first debuted in Akihabara, Tokyo in 2005 and has since grown into a music phenomenon as one of the most successful girl groups in the world, according to The Washington Post.

The first generation members of KLP48 were revealed this afternoon at Menara The Stride where they performed the AKB48 song Aitakatta for the media.

The first generation of KLP48 features 13 international members: seven Malaysians, four Japanese, one from Hong Kong and another from Indonesia.

The Malaysian members are Yi Shyan, Salwa, Lucine, Amanda, Ann Drea, Tiffany, and Khalies with international members Devi (Indonesia) and Hillary (Hong Kong).

The four Japanese members, Haruka, Cocoa, Suzuha, and Yurina were transferred from AKB48 and sister group STU48 based in Setouchi.

It has been quite the journey for the nine new members since auditions first opened earlier in January this year.

Malaysian member Yi Shyan, 20, told Malay Mail she was proud to make it through the tough training.

After auditions were completed, the trainees had to be split into three teams and trained to be idols, including for singing and dance training.

"The most challenging part of the training was the fact that some of our members had to go to school and weren’t able to join our training,” Yi said.

"It's quite hard to set a date and time because I’m also in college and sometimes I finish school at 5pm and others finish later and stay very far away.”

Yi added that the language barrier with foreign members was also a challenge as they could only communicate in simple English.

Japanese member Haruka, 23, however said they were warmly welcomed by the rest, and felt they could have fun as idols, and bond with them.

Part of their training was documented in a video series on KLP48’s YouTube channel, which shows their effort in their journey to becoming idols and their fun side exploring Malaysian culture and food.

"We all worked really hard to be here today, and I feel proud to represent Malaysia alongside these wonderful girls,” said Yi.

"Some of us were very stage-shy but we are now confident on stage, and I think we did good today.”

KLP48 will be managed by 48 Entertainment Sdn Bhd under Superball Inc. who are in charge of AKB48 and all the Japanese and International sister groups.

48 Entertainment Sdn Bhd Director Yip Chun Hei said that the unique point of KLP48 is that they will release music in many languages including Malay, Chinese, Japanese, and English.

Superball Inc. chief executive officer Nariaki Terada said he was impressed with Malaysian talents who were able to speak multiple languages and sing Japanese songs.

Terada was thrilled to welcome another international sister group and hopes KLP48 will bring in new fans not only from Malaysia but also worldwide.

With the theme of diversity as their strength, the team will hold their first performance today and tomorrow at 8pm at the Central Rooftop Garden in Lalaport, Bukit Bintang as part of the Bon Odori Festival.

KLP48 will be performing after members of AKB48 perform a traditional Bon Odori celebration dance and are also planning to release their first original song.

Find out more about KLP48 here.