Mediacorp Suria reached a milestone on 30 January 2010 when it turned a decade old. Time sure flew by over the past ten years in a twinkling of an eye. I remembered when the channel was first launched on 30 January 2000, I just turned 21, was still serving my National Service, a swinging single, about 20kg lighter than what I am now and with more hair on my head. I was there at the auditorium that particular Sunday night, simply because the launch had two of my favourite artistes – KRU & Dato’ Siti Nurhaliza – performing.

Fast forward to the current times, how the local Malay entertainment industry has grown. Talent competitions like Chef Selebriti, Juara, Anugerah, Anugerah Band and Anugerah Skrin have produced stars like Hyrul Anuar, Fauzie Laily, Sarah Aqilah, Nurul Aini, Rancour, Huda Ali, Chef Khalid & Shah Iskandar just to name a few. Theatre activists like Zamberi Abdul Patah, Rafaat Hamzah and Sani Hussin have stamped their authority as class actors on the screens. Virtual unknowns like Fadly Awaludin, Fadhlur Rahman, Azzah Fariha and Fizah Nizam have come from nowhere to grace our screens in various acting and hosting stints. Radio personalities like Fiza O, Azmi Sempoi, Hafeez Glamour, Nity Baizura, Aura Shai and A B Shaik have also branched out and added colour to some of the shows they have hosted or acted in. Not forgetting, former child prodigies like Khairudin Samsudin & Shahrin Azhar known more for their acting & hosting capabilities have directed and produced award-winning shows on television. And the list goes on and on.

We might have our personal gripes and complaints that Suria is very fond of repeating shows almost every day. But the repeated shows somehow serve a reminder that locally produced shows are of some quality and standard with our regional counterparts, other than the fact that we could watch them again just for laughs or for memories’ sake or if we had missed watching when they were first televised. So much so that Suria programmes have received several regional and international recognitions at the New York Festival, International Promax & World Gold and the Asian Television Awards. Some of these programmes have also been acquired and televised by regional broadcasters such as Astro, NTV 9, Asian Food Channel, Radio Televisyen Malaysia‘s TV1 & TV2 as well as channels on Radio Television Brunei.

It was an honour and my utmost pleasure to have been invited to this media session with some of the main stars of the recently-concluded Suria Elektra event, which was televised live on Suria last Friday night, 5th February 2010 at 8.30pm. The media session was held at the Balmoral Hall of Royal Plaza On Scotts last Thursday 4th February 2010 2-4pm. The session was hosted by Suhaimi Yusof and the event was graced by Mr. Suhaimi Jais – head honcho of Suria, Najip Ali – the host of Suria Elektra, Dato’ Siti Nurhaliza, Taufik Batisah, Sarah Aqilah, Anang Hermansyah & Pianka from Indonesia. Media representatives from Suria, Sensasi, Berita Harian, The New Paper, Gumbira.com and Screenbox (Sungguh.com) were in attendance. Being the only local entertainment blogger around, I felt small as I wasn’t used to this. Neither was I prepared to interview nor ask questions as my approach has always been to review or feature rather than interviewing the artistes.

For those of you who frequent or have been to The Royal Plaza On Scotts, either to say your prayers at the musollah in the building or dine at The Carousel but do not know where the Balmoral Hall is at, the plush venue overlooks the hotel’s swimming pool on the 5th floor lending it a touch of class and elegance. The room itself with its lush interior decor was already the perfect place to hold an event like this. I was genuinely impressed the moment I walked into the room and thought that they could not have held it at a better place than that. On the opposite side of the windows facing the pool, the glass panels faced the greenery outside, soothing the eyes and lending some wanted shade into the room on a day the sun was scorching hot and the sweltering heat outside was quite unbearable. As I walked into the room, Anang Hermansyah & Pianka were already there.

I did not waste time in requesting Pianka to do a short greeting for my blog, something similar to the one that Taufik Batisah did in the last entry. I know many of you dunno who these three girls who make up Pianka are, unless you’ve followed their progress in the inaugural season of Gangstarz, the popular reality show across the Causeway in search of the next big group to hit the entertainment industry there. Pianka is made up of Nita Lesmana, Sherine Farani & Puspita Wardhani. They are currently based in Jakarta having left KRU Records to pursue their music careers in their own motherland. The group derived its name from the term “Pianica” and are no slouches at playing musical instruments or giving vocal coachings. Nita and Sherine are qualified vocal instructors and the latter has a penchant for playing the violin. My hairs stood as I was simply bowled over by their vocal prowess, hearing them sing when I recorded their greeting.

I wanted to go over and chat with Anang, maybe ask him to record a greeting for me but he was quite pre-occupied, either chatting with the other media representatives or having a quiet time on his own and enjoying the light refreshments that were served. He looked quite tired judging by the look on his face and I found out later on from a very credible source close to him that he was indeed exhausted and hungry. Past experiences taught me to respect the privacies of artistes or know when they wished to be left alone. Some people might be quick to condemn that these people can be unapproachable or aloof just by looking at their faces. Anang was there for me to “attack” when he was all alone, but I thought the guy needed some rest since afterall, he just arrived from Indonesia. So I left him to be on his own especially since throughout the two-hour session, he wore a look which alternated from boredom to exhaustion.

Mr. Suhaimi Jais kicked off the session by thanking everyone who came and describing how the station has progressed over the years. He also outlined his hopes on how the next ten years would be like, with more quality shows in the pipeline, of course with help from the various production houses in Singapore. The artistes in attendance then took turns to introduce themselves and thanking Suria for giving them the opportunity to grace this star-studded event. People like Sarah Aqilah, Taufik Batisah, Najip Ali and Dato’ Siti Nurhaliza also described how their careers have shaped and how Suria have played a part in their progression and involvement with the station over the past ten years. Indeed, listening to them was like going back in time to shows like “Bersama Siti” and “KOTT“, two shows that have left indelible marks in the minds of viewers.

Once the session was over and it was time for the artistes to have private sessions with the media representatives, I took time to alternate between taking photographs of what was transpiring before me, i.e. the various interviews being made and chatting with some of the guests in attendance. Taufik surprised me by coming up to me and saying he read my Tweet prior to coming. I had left him a message beforehand saying I would be seeing him at the event in reply to his Tweet that stated he was going for a haircut and then to the event. We were not formally introduced before this even though we did take a photograph together at the post-event reception of Anugerah Planet Muzik 2008. Though we chatted briefly about Twitter‘s impact, he immediately struck me as someone with no airs whatsoever and exuding loads of charm. No wonder the ladies go gaga over him and I don’t blame them, as I experienced it first hand myself.

Always the most sought after person at media sessions and press conferences, it was no wonder that Dato’ Siti Nurhaliza was one of the last to leave. I did not get to chat with her as she had to rush off for rehearsals at Mediacorp TV Theatre but at least she was kind enough to stop for awhile to record this greeting for you and I hope you would continue to visit this site for more updates, especially as I still have yet to update on Fiesta Suria, Suria Elektra, Fiesta Famili and Glenn Fredly‘s Lovevolution concert. I will try to update twice a week so I can space out my entries before RIA‘s Big Bash event on 21st February 2010. Thank you once again to the good people at Mediacorp Suria for inviting me to the Suria Elektra Media Session last Thursday. It was indeed a memorable event to savour, especially since Dato’ Siti Nurhaliza and Anang did not attend the Suria Elektra post-event reception.

The Event Pictures In Summary

Where it was held at…

Calm before the storm…

Event host Suhaimi Yusof… Sarah Aqilah looking a bit tensed… That was understandable since she was sitting beside Dato’ Siti Nurhaliza…I think any newbie out there would have felt the same thing as well…

Mr. Suhaimi Jais, head honcho of Suria…

Najip Ali, host of Suria Elektra…

I am sure she needs no further introduction…

Likewise this suave and charming gentleman…

Anang is very soft spoken and a man of few words…

Sarah Aqilah hopes to share her experiences in ten years’ time…

Pianka felt honoured to be invited as guest artistes…

A group photo before the session ended…

Anang being interviewed for Persada Seni…

Likewise Dato’ Siti Nurhaliza…

And Taufik Batisah as well…

Whilst waiting for their turn to be interviewed, Pianka gamely posed for the cameras. From left – Sherine Farani, Puspita Wardhani & Nita Lesmana…

Sarah Aqilah had to rush off for rehearsals but still had time for one last shot…

Just before she left, Dato’ Siti was still in the mood for a few last shots…

Taufik Batisah wishes Suria a Happy 10th Anniversary…

Just as I had begun my previous entry, Mediacorp Suria reached a milestone on 30 January 2010 when it turned a decade old. And to commemorate its ten years of existence, the premier Malay television channel in Singapore held two big bashes within the space of a week – Fiesta Suria held at East Coast Park on 30 January 2010 itself and Suria Elektra on Friday 5th February 2010. While I will update this domain on photographs of the beach event on a slightly later date, I’m sure the one that people have vested interest in, is the Suria Elektra event.

Suria Elektra featured a stellar gathering of around 100 artistes and these included the unsung performers like the dancers, under the direction of veteran choreographer Eddy, the back-up singers under the tutelage of vocal coach Ann Hussein and the musicians led by Amri Amin, a well-respected music arranger and director. The two-hour live musical extravaganza was not only an evening of musical splendour but it also celebrated the unveiling of Suria’s new logo:

The new Suria logo reflects the channel’s growth. The strong bold letter “S” symbolises the channel’s strength in its aspiration to strife for new creative ideas. The bright orange signifies freshness and vibrancy while the “smiley” shape below the letter “S” characterises the channel as a “feel-good” channel that continues to shine with the viewers. The logo was officially unveiled by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who was the guest-of-honour, during the show itself.

Suria‘s prime-time viewership has grown by 33% from 2008 to 2009 with the channel’s local contents constantly been its top-rated programmes. In a press release statement, Mr Suhaimi Jais, Senior Vice President of Suria Programming & Promotions and Mediacorp Eaglevision said that the challenge for them is to continuously improve their contents and keeping them fresh. The change in logo also portrays Suria‘s aspirations to be more innovative and providing up-to-date content.

It was a throwback to the year 2000 when the Prime Minister who was then-Deputy Prime Minister, had also launched the first official Malay channel on our shores. The days when our Malay programmes had to share a common channel with the arts, Tamil as well as children’s programmes now seem like a distant memory. Over the years we have also seen the launching of dedicated channels to cater to our Indian community (Vasantham) as well as for the children / arts / documentaries / lifestyle (Okto).

Before the show kicked off in earnest, there was a red-carpet and pre-show cocktail event. Hosted by roving hosts, Huda Ali & Rilla Melati, clips of the event were shown in brief and it looked grand seeing the invited artistes dressed in their very best. I did not attend the event as my invitation card did not include being invited to it. Even if I was invited, I doubt I would be able to make it as I was still stuck at work right up till 7.30pm, when the card clearly stated that we were to be there at 7:00pm!!! Good thing when I reached Caldecott Broadcast Centre, I was still considered early and had time to make my way into the auditorium. The only downside was having to negotiate my way in and being resorted to strict security checks. But that was understandable as the event was graced by the who’s who in our Malay community circle, distinguished dignitaries and of course, our Prime Minister.

The show kicked off with aplomb, Sarah Aqilah, the winner of Anugerah 2009, came onstage to sing Mulan Jameela‘s “Makhluk Tuhan Paling Seksi“. It came as a big surprise to me that this song was able to be performed on national television and in front of very, very important people who made up part of the audience. You might wonder and question, “What is wrong with that???” Here’s the ironical part. This song was not approved to be aired by our local radio stations due to its apparently suggestive nature, and yet here we are seeing it being performed on a grand scale. I wonder if the so-called “ban” would now be lifted as a result.

I thought the choice of having Najip Ali & Nurul Aini as hosts was spot-on. For someone who has not done live hosting for a few years, I thought Nurul did extremely well, even to the point of improvising her script at certain points to give it an edgier punch. Their chemistry throughout the show, grew as the minutes wore on. Obviously Nurul didn’t look out of place even though she did admit, she was very nervous prior to the show. One could understand her fears, especially since this was afterall a grand event watched by thousands at home and very, very important people in the auditorium.

Sleeq & Maiya Rahman performing a song specially composed in tribute to popular programmes televised on Suria over the past ten years…

It was apt that Eka Mairina & Kunjung Whitaker performed together onstage as they’re our two famous Indonesian imports whose raw potentials were polished in the Anugerah competition. I had envisaged that someday they would perform together but I did not expect it to be this soon. For the record, Eka became champion in 2003 while Kunjung was the runner-up in last year’s competition. That night, they sang the classic hit “Jelingan Manja” and was accompanied by renowned saxaphonist Jari.

Anang Hermansyah performing his current hit “Separuh Jiwaku Pergi“. The whole auditorium felt his emotions flowing in the song and he was given a rousing ovation by a whole row of female personalities that included the likes of Seri Wahyuni Jaes, Mastura Ahmad, Ariati Tyeb and Rita Zahara…

This particular segment whereby Anang and Sarah sang the former’s composition “Belajarlah Untuk Cinta” was both cute and cynical at the same time – Cute because Anang was being cheeky and romantic by holding onto Sarah‘s hands throughout the song and grinning from ear to ear, and cynical because the words to the song was an obvious dig to his ex-wife. They obviously were a joy to listen to, showing good vocal harmony together and having the chemistry that lent credence to the performance. Sarah who was initially coy, showed the audience why she deserved to be crowned Anugerah 2009 champion by hitting the high notes with nonchalant ease. Not that regular viewers needed any reminders.

Vadi, Kym Ng and Suhaimi Yusof cracking up the audience with their short skit…

The girls of Pianka definitely did not disappoint when they sang their first single “Mau Yang Besar“. Though the song is more than a year old, having been included in the Cicakman 2 official soundtrack album, I’ve yet to hear it on this shores. I just hope the slightly suggestive title doesn’t go the same way as Mulan Jameela‘s “Makhluk Tuhan Paling Seksi“, because compared to the latter which I agree has some undesirable tones, the former actually portrays how some ladies’ preferences for material stuff, are conditions warranted in order to win over their hearts. This song has been playing at the back of my head ever since I met them at the Suria Elektra Media Session. Kudos to Edry KRU on another masterpiece composition. He’s not a millionaire for nothing or just by introducing mere pretty faces in the music industry across the Causeway.

As winners of the inaugural Anugerah Band competition, I expected Rancour to at least have more minutes to their segment, cos Sarah Aqilah appeared in no less than three items that night. Surely being winners themselves, they deserved slightly more, yes???

Eiss & “Papa Rock“, Ramli Sarip, singing the latter’s old hit “Teratai“. The hairs stood in awe of their performance…

Ramli Sarip then took centrestage singing “Keliru“…

He was ably accompanied by Zoul (left) and Alif Putra (right). For the uninitiated, Zoul is the younger brother of M. Nasir and Alif was the winner of Best Musician at the inaugural Anugerah Band competition in 2008, where he turned out with the group Putra.

This segment featuring the new faces of Suria over the past decade left me and the audience scratching our heads as to whether it was necessary to have in the first place or merely a filler of sorts because it felt more like a fashion showcase where models do the catwalk along the runway. Even though I have no qualms about their selections and felt all ten of them deserved to be there, I just can’t help thinking that besides the good-lookers, maybe perhaps they could have included the breakthrough artistes or artistes who are plus-sized but still became household names like Fadhilah Samsudin (Erlin Montel), Zamberi Abdul Patah (Cik Leh in “Jeritan Sepi 2“) and Haryani Othman (Cikgu Bedah in “Tahu Nahu“). Granted, you need to look good to be on television, but a more realistic perspective could probably have given these people a fairer opportunity to receive some form of recognition for their good performances and making viewers remember them by.

Unlike his haunting hit “Angkasa” which has now topped the local radio charts for a ninth straight week, I found Hady Mirza‘s next single “Hentikan“, taken off his “Sang Penyanyi” album, which he sang that night, needing a lot of getting used to as compared to the former. “Angkasa” is easier on the ears as it is a typical ballad and sappy song. What made it even more special was the fact that it was Hady‘s first Malay single since “Jangan Memandu Di Pinggir Jalan“. However, the message the song “Hentikan” brings with it with regards to world peace, ending strifes and wars I believe, is more important and that’s what make this next single of his a song of pristine substance. I also do not dare to bet against this song following the footsteps of “Angkasa” and topping the local charts in time to come.

When Suria Channel was first launched on 30 January 2000, Siti Nurhaliza was slowly making waves as the hottest singing sensation this part of South-East Asia was witnessing. Back then when she donned a striking kimono and singing “Kurniaan Dalam Samaran“, I doubt that anyone of us, me included, would have envisaged seeing her being conferred the status of a “Dato‘” within a ten-year period. But such has been her colourful journey and without waxing too much lyrical on her achievements that need no further reminding, she has definitely gone on to become a brand name that the whole Nusantara has come to love and in the case of certain quarters, dislike. The title bestowed on her was a matter of when, not if. She would have gotten it even if she had not married a “Dato‘” as well.

That night Dato’ Siti Nurhaliza sang three songs to the delight of the watching audience. The first, “Batas Asaku” was taken off the official soundtrack of the movie “Perempuan Berkalung Sorban“, which was based on a novel by Abidah el Khalieqy, and was first published by the Yayasan Kesejahteraan Fatayat in Jogjakarta in 2001. After addressing the audience, she followed up her segment with a medley of Bukan Cinta Biasa and Destinasi Cinta, two songs that needed no further introductions. I guess in any appearance she makes, be it for a showcase, a concert or even a brief cameo, the audience would never get enough of her and that night was no different.

I certainly did not expect Taufik Batisah to sing “Sesuatu Janji” taken off his “All Because Of You” album, simply for the sole reason that he already has a more recent album entitled “Suria Hatiku“, one that has produced hits after hits with every single being introduced on the airwaves. But was I complaining??? Not one bit, cos amongst all his songs, this is my personal favourite and little wonder too, since I got him to sing this song when he recorded a greeting for this blog which I posted in the entry before last. I half-expected him to do his somersault, which he executed when he sang the same song at Anugerah Planet Muzik 2008, but I guess the space constraints didn’t allow him to. Or perhaps that special moment in 2008 was reserved for the regional audience. Still, I enjoyed it all the same.

The show came to a rousing end when the Anugerah alumnus, which consisted of Fauzie Laily, Maiya Rahman, Hyrul Anuar and Eka Mairina came on stage to sing Adam & Stacy‘s “Menggegar Dunia“. This was followed by Sarah Aqilah appearing for the third time that night, along with Eiss and Kunjung singing Faizal Tahir‘s “Gemuruh“. I just felt the first song, which is punchier as compared to the second one, would have been a better choice to open or end the show. The performance which reeked of zest and energy, as demonstrated by Fauzie, Maiya, Hyrul and Eka, would have been a fairer reflection of what Suria is all about – Vibrancy.

If there were any complaints or misgivings I had, then perhaps it would have been the fact that certain people were apparently overlooked for this event. The show was meant to be a celebration of the past ten years and it was fair to have those performing or those who made an appearance that night being given the opportunity to do so. Yes it was commendable to have the Anugerah alumnus between the years 2003–2009 performing, but what about those before that, most notably Aqmal Noor (winner in 2004), Indra Hamzah (winner in 2001) and Rudy Djoharnaen (winner in 2002)??? While Aqmal is slowly making inroads as seen by his win at last year’s Rentak Singapura event for his composition entitled “Warkah Dunia“, the other two have been relatively quiet and not heard of since.

Suria also had non-singing competitions like Juara (2002) and Anugerah Skrin (2006) in search of the next big thing in acting and hosting. Though the potentials of Nurul Aini as the night’s co-host and Huda Ali as roving host during the pre-event cocktail reception, were discovered and eventually polished to be who they are now, I hope no one has forgotten the likes of Firdaus Abdul Rahman (who appeared as “Captain Zero” in the comedy sitcom “Ahakz” and lately as the teacher in “Dikir Putri“) and Shahril Wahid (who played the handicapped character in “Gerimis Di Hati“), winners of Juara and Anugerah Skrin (Male Category) respectively. Both are accomplished theatre actors and they have definitely brought their experiences to the screens. One can only recall how Shahril‘s character in “Gerimis Di Hati” was excellently portrayed and I wouldn’t bet against him winning something at next year’s Pesta Perdana event just for that role itself.

If the segments that night were already too packed for a two-hour programme, then perhaps they could have just made cameo appearances, just like the catwalk segment that featured the new faces of the past decade. I think a small gesture like that could have gone a long way in refreshing the minds of viewers, that these guys also had had their moments of joy when they created history with the channel. I hope in future, winners like them would be remembered, even if they’re mentioned in brief or shown short clips of their performances. They are all unique in their own rights, skilled in their respective crafts, and should not be reduced to mere footnotes or forgotten altogether. I could be wrong in my analysis though, as perhaps they could have been invited to perform or make an appearance, but could not make it due to personal commitments. Shahril for the record, was invited as a guest that night.

The finale…

I just found it extremely unfortunate that on a week our premier Malay channel celebrated its milestone, unsavoury news in the print and alternative media with regards to a home-made video of a former actress / host, as well as news of the arrests of a famous comedian and a rock singer came to light. Everyone seems to have an opinion one way or another about these incidents as they’re being talked about almost everywhere on the Net. Even my blog statistics jumped because people were searching for the name of that former actress / host and their search results led to this domain. I will not delve too much on it, but I hope the public’s opinions on artistes in general will still be as positive as ever and not look down on them nor stereotype this career path as was famously portrayed in Allahyarham Tan Sri P. Ramlee‘s classic “Ibu Mertuaku“.

Like any offender, I believe the people who have made the news of late, should not be made outcasts or pariahs throughout their lives. We all make mistakes, whether they’re minor or severe, and the only way for them to lead normal lives again after this, is for us to offer them support & encouragement to be better people and accept them as part of society. Do not ostracise them just because as artistes, they are expected to be role models discerning youngsters look up to for inspiration. I’m actually heartened by the fact that fellow artistes have voiced their support in one way or another via their Tweets and Facebook statuses. This spirit of togetherness and protecting one another is what I admire and applaud, even though we’ve all heard before about the industry being harsh and bitchy due to a lot of backbiting.

Which reminds me of this entry I typed last July entitled “Be True To Yourselves“. When all these incidents happened, became the talking points and ended up being tabloid fodder (ok granted we only have one tabloid paper in our midst), I was eeriely reminded of what I outlined through several pointers in that particular posting. I certainly did not expect some of what I mentioned to be uncannily prophetic. Though I will not quote everything on what I typed back then, I will just end this entry with three paragraphs from that post I made, which relate to what has been happening around us of late and I hope we would all learn something from these recent episodes:

“Which is why I hope that up-and-coming artistes like our new batch of Anugerah contestants as well as those that are already established, would succeed without having any skeletons in the closet or deceive the fans through cunning ability spinning yarns after yarns of crap. One can put up a false front in front of the public, pull the wool over the eyes of the legions of fans, but shit catches up with the bull eventually since the latter needs to defecate afterall. In other words, one can only go so far with bullshit but life has a way of revealing dirty little secrets through time and when one leasts expects it.

Be thankful that there will always be an ever caring and protective arm around your shoulder, shielding you away from any possible backlash from your own fans or the community, when the paparazzis come a-calling, catching you in the act with your pants down. Cos too many of our local acts think they can get away with misdemeanours done mostly with the opposite sex or through various forms of intoxications. We are afterall, living in a society that is still conservative and sensitive. Being in the public eye, one should know better than to do things that could jeopardise their growing reputation as an established brand in the industry.

This entry, even though it looks as though I’m dissing someone or some people, it has to be said that it is also a reminder I want to share with all local artistes out there because I want to see our small industry succeed, without having to go through nasty episodes, which would eventually lead to a lot of unhappiness and ostracising. Everything that is to be done should be from the heart, laced with integrity and filled with unbridled honesty. That’s how one achieves blessed sustenance in any work or endeavour that we put our will into. I am very sure that most of our local acts are true to themselves and honest in their approach to their craft. For that, I will always continue to support our industry, no matter how much we seem to lack in several areas of professionalism.”

P.S. You must be wondering where are the post-event reception photographs. This entry was already too long for my liking that I’ve decided to split it into two. I’ll try to upload the photographs before Monday. Till then, I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this review and thank you Suria for inviting me to the event as well as providing useful information which I have included in this entry…

As promised, I’m back with this entry which I’ve promised to upload before Monday. For those of you who are linked to me in Facebook, this post is perhaps very much redundant as you would have seen the photographs I uploaded on Suria Elektra and its post-event reception about a week ago. But of course I have not forgotten those who are not in my contact list. That is why this entry is published specially for you even if I don’t upload all the photographs I took that night.

If you had watched the live telecast show from the comfort of your home, then you would have missed seeing the cutting of Suria‘s 10th Anniversary cake when the rolled credits had ended and Suria was showing “Kala Malam Bulan Mengambang“. Our distinguised guests-of-honour were invited up to the stage by the pre / post-event emcee, A B Shaik, to cut the 10kg cake sponsored by Prima Deli. Just before the cake was cut, everyone in the auditorium was asked to join in the singing of the birthday song. Even stars like Dato’ Siti Nurhaliza, Ramli Sarip, Taufik Batisah and Hady Mirza amongst others, were not spared from being asked to sing when the microphone was passed to them.

The artistes waving and thanking the audience and fans who had come to watch…

Nurul Aini was seen blowing kisses to the crowd. She really enjoyed herself as a host that night…

The look on Fadly Awaludin‘s face was classic…

The cake is then wheeled out from the backstage…

“Happy birthday to you!!!… Happy birthday to you!!!”

Blowing away the flames on the candles…

And cutting the cake…

And then it was time for the food to be served at the post-event reception…

Suhaimi Yusof, food connoisseur, tucking in…

Hady & Taufik were still game for photographs even though they wore tired looks on their faces…

A mixture of old and new, from left: Taufik Salleh, Roslan Kemat, Noor Atika Kamaludin & Joe Lazarie…

Imran Ajmain looked dashing, while Nurul Aini was stunning…

The ladies who sat together in a row and held their own party that night. Any performer would love to have them as part of their audience. From left: Rosita Hussin, Ariati Tyeb, Rahimah Yusof, Rita Zahara, Mastura Ahmad, Seri Wahyuni Jaes, Elfaeza Ul-Haq & Dalina Jaapar.

Here’s Pianka and their manager Jihan Jauhar…

Three beautiful ladies whose talents have been discovered by Suria over the past decade, from left: Azzah Fariha, Kunjung and Huda Ali…

Ashmie, Elfaeza and Shahril Wahid demonstrating how to be toothpaste commercial models, while Suhaillah Salam, Dalina & Taufik kept it cool…

The guys looked slick while the ladies were demure. You gotta hand it to Imran Ajmain, Syarif Sleeq, Fauzie Laily, Norfasarie, Rosita Hussin, Nurul Aini, Elfaeza, Dalina & Najip Ali…

Suhaillah with the ever loving couple, Rafaat Hamzah and his wife Ziz Za…

Catty (Anugerah 2009 semi-finalist) and Alyph Sleeq  flanking the cast of the new series Cinta Ixora – Syarif Sleeq, Nurul Nabilah, Setia Vegawati, Nadiah Mohd and Shenthy Feliziana. Cinta Ixora will debut on Suria on 27 February 2010 at 09:30pm…

I’m sure fans of Syah Ibrahim (second from right) would love this photograph. Here he is with, from right: M. Saffri A. Manaf, Roslan Kemat, A B Shaik & Jorah Ahmad‘s chaperone…

Sani Hussin (second from left) was initially hesitant to take this photograph alongside the younger generation of Suria artistes like Ashmie, Taufik, Haizad Imran, Fadhlur Rahman, Sufiyan, Azzah Fariha & Elfaeza as he felt out of place, but he joined in after much coaxing. I’m sure the younger cohort look up to him as a mentor and inspiration…

Rita Zahara, ex-newscaster of both English & Malay news got my vote as the best-dressed that night. She was simply gorgeous in her dress, which was designed by Lulu Alhadad, an up and coming fashion designer…

And before I end this entry, I would just like to thank Imran Ajmain for taking the time to record this for my readers on that night itself. Please do give him your utmost support and visit his official website www.imranajmain.com for the latest news on his upcoming shows and single / album promotions. Also, for more news on our local entertainment scene, promotions on upcoming shows, concerts and events, you can get your bites at Gumbira.com, a company set up by none other than the man himself…

Pesta Perdana 11 will be a night of glitz and glamour for Suria as it celebrates the 11th edition of its prestigious awards show. The main objective of this show is to recognise, acknowledge and honour the best talents in the Malay television industry in Singapore. This year’s “Magic” theme will be visually captivating with entrancing performances and it will be telecast LIVE on Friday, 4 March 2011 at 8.30pm on Suria.

The mega event attracted more than 470 entries from local production houses who are vying for top honours in the fiercely contested programmes and performance award categories.  This is a positive increase of more than 100 entries as compared to the previous event. A new addition this year in the creative award category is Best Editing – Drama. A total of 26 awards are up for grabs this year.

Gracing this event will be Guest-Of-Honour, Dr Ng Eng Hen, Minister for Education and 2nd Minister for Defence who will be giving away Anugerah Perdana Emas (Lifetime TV Achievement Award).

The two-hour show will be fronted by Suhaimi Yusof, Najip Ali and Nurul Aini who have won Best Host award in Pesta Perdana. These three multi-talented artistes have appeared in numerous Malay and English shows. Interestingly too, Suhaimi Yusof and Najip Ali are nominated in the Most Popular Male Personality category for the 10^th time. Suhaimi also has the highest number of single nomination this year which include two nominations for Best Actor/Actress in a Comedy Role for Camy & Dee and Erlin Montel Sr 2.

Silver Ang who appeared as a single mother in drama U.M.M.I (Mother), is nominated in Most Promising Actor/Actress category. This is a third time for non-Malay actor/actress to be nominated in Pesta Perdana – past nominations include Henry Heng (Best Supporting Actor nominee) and Christina Wee (Best Lead Actress nominee) in Pesta Perdana 8 – both appeared in Tetangga (Neighbour), a heartwarming drama that features a multi-racial cast.

Both Nurul Aini and Mastura Ahmad are in the same categories, vying for Best Lead Actress and Most Popular Female Personality awards. Both have acted on Channel 5 and Channel 8.

Heartthrob Khairudin Saharom is nominated twice in Best Host category for Project Hope 2010 and Sinaran Hati Gemilang. Khairudin was last seen hosting The Big Shot on Channel 5.

Celebrity siblings, Sani and Rosita Hussin, are both nominated in the respective Best Actor/Actress in a Supporting Role categories. Sani last appeared in Okto’s Pulau Hantu.

The Top 3 production houses with the most number of Creative Awards* nominations are:

• MediaCorp Eaglevision – 10 nominations
• DV Studio – 6 nominations
• Fine Cut Media – 4 nominations

*Creative Awards include:

1.     Best Directing – Drama

2.     Best Directing – Variety

3.     Best Videography – Drama

4.     Best Writing – Drama

5.     Best Writing – Variety/Info-ed

6.     Best Editing – Drama,

7.     Best Opening Title Design

8.     Best Image & Styling

This highly anticipated event also offers Suria viewers the opportunity to become judges as they vote through SMS for the Most Popular Male and Female Personalities respectively. Votes can be sent to 73388 in the format as follows:

PP <space> Artiste’s Code (eg. L1 or W1)

Voting started on 10 February 2011 and ends on 4 March 2011 at 10pm. The results will be based entirely on public votes.

Viewers can win tickets to Pesta Perdana 11 by participating in the contests via Suria’s social networking sites, Facebook and Twitter as well as Manja (March issue). Tickets are not for sale.

(All information, graphics and photographs are courtesy of Mediacorp Suria)

For the Pesta Perdana 11 list of nominees, please click here.

Pesta Perdana 11 was a night full of emotions, as the local Malay entertainment industry celebrated the artistes who have graced the television screens over the past two years in their respective crafts, and honoured the unsung heroes working behind the scenes. Held on 4th March 2011 at the Mediacorp TV Theatre and televised live on Mediacorp Suria at 8:30pm, the night saw 27 awards given away, of which eight that fell under the Creative Awards category, were presented earlier in a separate, recorded segment prior to the event proper.

Not only were the winners emotional, notably the male recipients, the online community was abuzz with emotional comments being aired via Twitter and Facebook. I must say a majority of the online community did not have good things to say about the show, the common word being “boring”. Most did not state why they thought it was “lame” or “boring” (and these are two adjectives which are considered “tactful” in my opinion), but I get the impression that most of these comments were aired without giving much thought, nor doing some research to back their claims, which in turn resulted in emotional and irrational rants. I’ll give you a few cases in point but before I move on, I would like to apologise to bro Hafeez Glamour for taking some of these points off his list of contacts who commented in his status, with regards to the show, as I felt they were the ones who were a bit more expressive than others that I read elsewhere in Twitter and Facebook:

1. Ader tak banyak bernyanyi banyak bebual Dan terima hadiah… Boring:) Gelagat artis cume HOS yg banyak ceriakan para penonton Dan para rumah yg menonton kaca tv:) not much lah this year last year lagi great:)
2. winners pun very predictable..sepatotnye shahril menang instead of rafaat.. -_- gelagat artis? so OVER esp S.H.
3. Ni kali yang angkat piala banyak yang step keluar air mata….satu start semua start….geli…..!!!
4. btw… knapa eh Khairudin Samsudin not even in d list of nominees? He’s good… tapi tk pernah dpt apa2 award… he deserves recognition!
5. Tahun depan jgn guna undi talipon…kerana banyak bakat yg lebih baik jatuh kepada bakat2 yg setahun jagung!!..
6.  part magician, tak kena langsung untuk rancangan seperti ini.kalau setakat diselitkan dlm acara persembahan oklah.
7.  mungkin pesta perdana harus buat 2 tahun skali… since negri kita ni kecik dan nak cungkil byk bakat dlm setahun pun tak kemana…
8. I tau Personality Lelaki Paling Popular menang oleh Fauzie Laily oleh kerana dis is base on votes Ya lar fanatic plays apart tapi kesian… Najib Ali atau Suhaimi Yusof shud have won kerana dorang lebih terserlah Dari Fauzie Laily.surprisingly Personality wanita Paling popular Nurul Ain menang tk seharus nyer shud b Era Farida atau Masturah Ahmad.
9. Rancangan hiburan tv terbaik pula haizzzz macam mana boleh hari raya? sungguh tak saya tak faham.
10. Bila si Nurul tu tepuk2 bahu tu kan tak elok. kalau silap2 Bos anda tak terima, boleh kena sue court. hehehe. very sensitive. ada orng tak suka kena sentuh takut isteri orng tu jealous ke dan macam 2 boleh berlaku. jatuhkan maruahlah and so.Mungkin Host boleh mulakan lakunan saperti mencari suami hilang ke , merajuk ke tak dapat terpilih. reaksi kalau tak terpilih ke kan lebih elok dari tepuk bahu penonton.

The excellent hosts of the show (from left): Suhaimi Yusof, Nurul Aini and Najip Ali…

My goodness!!! I had to stop at ten, lest I would have a field day correcting people. Honestly I dunno whether to laugh or to get angry with such comments. But I think certain things need to be addressed and corrected as leaving it bare for the world to see would not be a fair reflection on the show / artistes involved. First of all, this is an awards show for mainly those in the acting, hosting and production scene. As such, less singing was to be expected. I’m sure if one were to watch other countries’ similar award shows, they would note that singing performances are kept to the minimum. This event as most of us know, is a bi-annual event, which means it is held once in two years, I wonder why did people still comment that it should be done once in two years when it is already done in that manner for ages. Where have you people been???

The problem with television viewers and radio listeners in general is that, they prefer to view or listen selectively and afterwards form an opinion that suits what flashed across their minds in that instance they viewed or listened to something. Shahril Wahid and Rafaat Hamzah were both nominated in different categories. Why should there be a dispute when they are not even competing against each other for that particular award??? Likewise Khairudin Samsudin who was said to not have been nominated, I wonder if people actually bothered to take a look at the actual list of nominees which have been uploaded on Suria’s website for all to see, or they might have looked up / created their own fictitious list to suit their comments.

The multi-talented Khairudin was nominated afterall in the Best Actor in a Comedy Role for his performance at Sinar Lebaran 2010. And in case people forget, and I know most of you do, Khairudin had bagged the Best Actor Award before, for his role in Rahsia Perkahwinan at Pesta Perdana 2004. The Best Variety Series for the record was Anugerah 2009, not Sinar Lebaran (which won Most Popular Programme in this year’s Pesta Perdana edition) as was mentioned in the comments. I also do not understand where that commenter was coming from. Hence the reasons why I said that people practice selective hearing and viewing and comment without doing much thinking. Which is sad really cos intelligence and common sense go way out of the window. Or I wonder if people have a problem understanding the difference between “Popular” and “Terbaik” and how they are being judged???

The guest-of-honour, Dr Ng Eng Hen (centre), Minister for Education & Second Minister for Defence… 

What about the votes via sms??? It is afterall a popularity award and based on whose fanbase is stronger. It is not the same as those that are judged on merit. It’s unfair to deny these popularity categories from being awarded to their rightful recipients, simply because there were only two of them, for Male and Female personalities respectively. I mean, is it too much to ask for to be given away??? As for experience-wise, both winners of the popular categories have had at least half a decade’s worth of experience in the scene and no longer taking baby steps. I for one do not begrudge them of their respective wins as I felt they were utmost deserving, given their overall bubbly and friendly personalities which translate to a fanbase that worked hard to see their favourites win. In fact anyone who was nominated in those two popular categories deserved to win, because winning was in the hands of the voting public. Time and time again we’ve heard it all before, if you want your personal favourites to win, you should be doing the honours and vote as much as possible, rather than lament, bitch and complain at the end of the day.

The “issue” (if it can ever be called one) of tapping Mr Azlan Salim’s shoulders during the start of the show is something that a certain percentage of the community is fond of doing – creating something out of nothing. A mere tap on the shoulders will not get anyone into trouble and everyone, no make that most people, know that it was just an act. And nothing / no one decreeds that tapping another’s shoulders is wrong. It’s not like Nurul went over to Mr Azlan and caressed him or something. Whether the people who had their shoulders tapped knew anything about it beforehand or not, I’m sure it wasn’t an issue to them at all. So I really don’t understand why such dumb comments could appear from moral police out there. Don’t they have better things to scrutinise???

As for the “magic” theme, what else can be infused into the show to highlight the magical elements??? People love to comment and complain, but more often than not, they themselves have no answer nor provide alternatives to expand the creativity of the show. Personally I felt that this theme is something new and worth trying out. Yes, even though such an event is meant to be prestigious, we can’t expect everything to follow the style of the Oscars or Emmys. The producers were in a no-win situation, follow the route of the Oscars and they will be labelled as “copycats”. Going out of the norm and coming across as “childish” (another word used by viewers), they receive more flak for “disrespecting” the prestige element associated to it.

Suhaimi & Najip performing “Malam Gemilang” to kickstart the show…

As a whole and as an audience in the auditorium, I personally felt that this year’s edition was much better than the last in 2009. Not that everything was perfect throughout the night, of course there were flaws and that is to be expected from a live televised programme. I cringed somewhat at some of the award presenters who either did not plan their scripts and were just going through the motions or they were simply unprepared, giving the impression that they were thrusted into the limelight by force. I do not have to name who, but I’m sure viewers would note how boring some of the award presenters were. At least if you’re gonna be deadpan in front of the cameras, your saving grace should be your eye-candy looks.

The 30-seconds “rule” of speech-giving is a contentious issue that needs to be addressed before the next edition of Pesta Perdana comes around. After watching the show the other night, I could feel for the winners who wanted to share their gratitude to as many people as possible. For someone like Sani Hussin, a well-respected actor in his craft winning his first award in fourteen years, to beg the producers not to cut him off during his speech, speaks volumes that this rule needs to be tweaked or scrapped altogether. Perhaps they could extend it by another thirty-seconds and not be anal just to suit the stipulated airtime that the show needed to stick to religiously. The whole show can then be extended by another half an hour. Based on previous editions that ran up to three hours, I agree that that is a bit too long, but two and a half hours should do just fine. Few award shows end within a stipulated timing of two hours anyway. Why deny the winners their moment to express their feelings???

Looking at the monopoly of Eaglevision-produced programmes in the list of nominees for Rancangan Hiburan Khas Terbaik (Best Variety Special Programme) and winning the popular programmes in almost every edition, I think it is high time other production houses are given the opportunity to produce programmes like Sinar Lebaran and other similar programmes on a big scale. No matter how much we try to avoid the link, Eaglevision is under the Mediacorp umbrella and in turn will benefit from the funding that other production houses could only dream of. Also as was pointed out in the recent Berita Minggu article, special programmes of that magnitude would definitely rake in the viewers and translate to higher ratings. I know there is a competitive streak amongst the production houses but working together to lift the standards of our local programmes wouldn’t hurt one bit. At least we’ll have more ideas in terms of creativity and direction. Cast aside egos and rifts (if any) for the sake of the industry.

Najip and Suhaimi sharing a banter between them…

I observed as well from the various comments online how they got turned off looking at the way people like Sani Hussin and Rafaat Hamzah celebrated their wins. Give them a break people and let them revel in their wins cos they deserved every bit of it. Reading the comments left by people who only watch but mostly do not understand how the industry works, the hard work that these people do in front of the cameras and behind the scenes, the sleepless nights they go through just to bring you quality programmes on screens, it is unfair to deny them their moment of glory, no matter how they celebrate it. Yes this is not the Oscars or Grammys, but this is one show that our local acts get to be honoured and enjoy, our very own version, so why should we deny their winning expressions, no matter how overboard or “arrogant” they come across???

These are genuine performers who are in the industry not because of looks, not because of glamour, definitely not because of popularity. They work their socks off and sacrifice a lot of their time for their craft. This is why they are looked upon “in fear” and respected by the younger generation because they are damn good at what they do and how serious they are in their approach. Victory for them meant a victory for the theatre scene where their roots are firmly entrenched. I for one do not begrudge their achievements and the celebrations of my two mentors who guided me when I was involved in Muzika Cinta RIA back in 1998, even if I had hoped for Shahril Wahid to win the Best Actor in a Supporting Role title. I hope their wins inspire the younger cohort to up their ante in future productions.

As in any awards show, there will always be heated debates as to why this person won and how could another person lose out? The common one I’ve been observing is how did Sharon Ismail win her title of Best Lead Actress when Jorah Ahmad, an Anugerah Perdana Emas recipient lost out??? In the first place, the latter had said that if possible, she did not want to be nominated and was quite embarrassed about it, but still went ahead as she did not want to disappoint the producers. Anyway, there is no divine right for any special awards recipient to receive a Best Actor or Best Actress award afterwards. It doesn’t work that way. The nominees are there not to make up the numbers but because they deserved to be there on merit. The winner won because the judging panel felt that they had given better performances and left lasting impressions. I don’t think Jorah Ahmad not winning was a slap to her face, cos I’m sure she too would not begrudge Sharon of her win.

All in all, I think all the winners were deserved and should not be debated upon. Lest I forget, here’s a belated congratulations from me to all the richly-deserved winners. I believe that viewers out there need to learn to comment without having too much emotions instilled, without having too much stigma over locally-made programmes, without having too much prejudice against them, cos more often than not, it will cloud their judgments and in turn make them sound stupid rather than trying to come across as intelligent.

There will always be room for improvements on these big-scale events and rather than talk, I hope people would come forward and feedback the relevant people on how to make future programmes be better, better still if they could produce or contribute creative ideas. The small industry needs all the support from our own people. Reading comments that the show was boring and lame, in a way, showed that they still cared to watch and still bothered to comment. The challenge will always be to sustain winning over these eyes and hands from switching their remotes to another channel. Oh lest I forget, having the same person / production house nominated a few times in the same category also does not promote healthy competition.

They will always compare our shows with those across the Causeway or in the region, but they should also know the limitations that we have in terms of funding and support. We only have about half a million Malays in this country and to entice them to watch Suria itself is a challenge on its own. Compare that to the millions of viewers in Malaysia and Indonesia, we cannot compare the quality of their awards shows cos they have big sponsors and big players running the show. As such we have to lower our expectations and understand our limitations. Not everything you watch from foreign soil is the best. Lest we forget, we still have many talents in this country that deserve our utmost support. Do not practice the old adage of “Kera di hutan disusukan, anak di rumah kelaparan…” Talk is cheap in cyberspace but actions speak louder than words…

Pesta Perdana 11 Roll of Honour

Best Lead Actor: Rafaat Hamzah (Kalimah Terakhir)

Best Lead Actress: Sharon Ismail (Ayah Kat Rumah)

Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Sani Hussin (Pinggiran Ramadan)

Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Rosita Hussin (Pinggiran Ramadan)

Best Actor/Actress in a Comedy Role: Suhaimi Yusof (Camy & Dee)

Most Promising Actor/Actress: Azzah Fariha (Timang)

Best Host: Rilla Melati (Jus Sr 1)

Best Young Star: Nazrul Fathmi (Kelas 6C, 1985)

Most Popular Male Personality: Fauzie Laily
Most Popular Female Personality: Nurul Aini

Best Drama Series: Gerimis Di Hati (MediaCorp Eaglevision)
Best Variety Series: Anugerah 2009 (MediaCorp Eaglevision)
Best Variety Special: Project Hope 2009 (MediaCorp Eaglevision)
Most Popular Programme: Sinar Lebaran 2009 (MediaCorp Eaglevision)

Best Drama Special: Timang (DV Studio)

Best Info-ed Programme: Jalan Sr 3 (Oak 3 Films)
Best Writing – Variety/Info-ed: Jalan Sr 3 (Idzwan Othman)
Best Opening Title Design: Jalan Sr 3 (Idzwan Othman)

Best Children’s Programme: Kelas 6C, 1985 (Shortman Films)
 

Best Directing Drama: Ayah Kat Rumah (Sanif Olek)

Best Directing – Variety: Project Hope 2009 (Neng Hayati & Johari Aziz)

Best Videography – Drama: Timang (Ikhram Daeng)

Best Writing – Drama: Gerimis Di Hati Sr 1 (Amanah Mustafi)

Best Editing – Drama: Delicatessen (Fa’in Syah Bahar)

Best Image & Styling: Suria Elektra (Azni Samdin & Fatimah Mohsin)

Best Theme Song: Singapura Syok (SleeQ)

Anugerah Perdana Emas (Lifetime Achievement Award): S. Shamsudin

I know my Pesta Perdana 2011 Review last week was filled with a lot of words and photos featuring only the hosts and the winners. It was meant to be deliberate so I could break my entries up, lest I wouldn’t have much to feature in the days / weeks ahead, knowing how dead this blog has been for about half a year. So this entry will be filled with photographs during the event itself as well as during the recorded show whereby the Creative Awards were given away. So without further ado, I leave you with some of the snapshots I took throughout the evening…

Television viewers did not get to see Zan Sofiyan during the commercial break entertaining the theatre audience along with the guest magicians…

The hosts – Suhaimi Yusof, Nurul Aini & Najip Ali welcoming us to the show…

Award presenters Khairudin Saharom & Huda Ali…

Award presenters Fauzie Laily & Habriyah Nasir…

Award presenter Wahyu Rahman…

Who was partnered with Vadi…

Award presenters Sufian Ahmad & Kunjung…

Eiss performed “Gerimis Di Hati“, the official soundtrack from the drama series of the same title…

Syed Azmir & Maiya Rahman performed “Angin (Bawaku Pergi)“, the official soundtrack from the drama series “Puteri Omera“…

Rifaah Ridzuwanulhakim crooned to “Lara Sepi“, which was used as the soundtrack to the tearjerking series “Pinggiran Ramadan“…

SleeQ put up an energetic performance singing their composition “Singapura Syiok“, the soundtrack of the infotainment programme of the same title…

Singapore Idol alumnus Matilda D’Silva sang “Project Hope“, the song specially composed for the charity show of the same title…

Award presenters Moliano & Rozie Rahim…

Award presenters Fadhlur Rahman & Rahimah Rahim…

Award presenters Diana Amran & Shahril Wahid…

Award presenters Bobby Tonelli & Pamela Chin…

Award presenters Suzairhe Sumari & Suhaillah Salam…

Award presenter and current Editor of Manja Magazine, Ruslina Affendy…

Eddie Ali introducing the theatre and home audience to the Perdana Emas Award recipient…

Award presenters Rahima Yusoff & Zaidi Ibrahim…

Mystifying Imran performing his brand of magic tricks…

And he was accompanied by Kunjung and Maiya Rahman who performed “Asmaradana”…

SleeQ, Eiss, Aliff Putra, Revalina and Fauzie Laily combined to perform the latest Mediacorp Suria song to close the show…

After such a heady month of March where this blog had a post at a rate of every other day, it’s back to its normal hiatus stage. For those of you hoping to view photographs of the recent Rock Elektra event or wanting to read the latest happenings during the Anugerah 2011 auditions held at East Point Mall over the weekend before last in this blog, I have to apologise first and foremost cos I did not attend either events due to more pressing issues at work and at home. I would have loved to attend the latter to see the talents and potentials on offer but alas my schedule was a bit too tight for me to bring to you what went on over at East Point Mall. I know the topic of Pesta Perdana 11 is kinda stale by now, but I did plan a three-parter posting on it, with this being the icing on the cake. Since I did not attend Rock Elektra and the Anugerah 2011 auditions this past weekend, I hope this posting would more than make up for it and acts as a filler. The photographs are a selected few I’ve chosen for your viewing, since only my Facebook contacts are able to view the whole collection…

Roving host & Anugerah Skrin 2010 winner, Syirah Jusni looking splendour…

SleeQ and Fauzie Laily with Berita Harian‘s Entertainment Correspondent, Ms Hanim Mohd Saleh…

One word to describe Azzah Fariha Samat & Silver Ang: Beautiful…

I will never fail to laugh in the presence of these natural comedians – Sufian Ahmad & Junaidi Sali…

Renowned theatre activists, the husband-and-wife team of Haryani Othman & Khairul Famy Kassim…

Anugerah Skrin alumnus Shahril Kahar, Junaidi Sali & Erwin Shah Dawson…

“Slick” is the word to describe Helmindra J. A. Halim, Nick Mikhail & Fauzie Laily…

Without them, our comedy scene is a tad poorer. From left: M. Saffri  A. Manaf, B.J. Kadir, Hamzah Adon (striped shirt), Zainal Ihim, Hussin Saaban & Mahadi Shor…

The faceless character in Kopi Bujang, Effandy Idris and wife Sabrina Ali…

My uncle, Jasmani Basri, who came alone that night surprisingly…

Nadiah Mohammad with Erwin… They represent the future…

My favourite couple: Den Sabari and Huda Ali…

Silver Ang, her chaperone and Sufiyan Safee…

Award-winning stylist and director, Azni Samdin (right) with a friend…

Osman Sulaiman and Shahril Wahid did not win anything that night but they were winners in their own rights…

Broadcast journalist Raudha Osman, Shenthy Feliziana and Nadiah Mohammad…

The VVIPs of the event…

The star of Delicatessen, Sufiyan Safee…

Best Actor Award recipient, Rafaat Hamzah, revel in his win…

Two beautiful ladies – Sharon Ismail & Rilla Melati…

The smile says it all… Congrats Fauzie… You definitely earned it…

A face not seen on our local television screens in a long, long while – Nuraliza Osman…

Anugerah Skrin 2010 mentors Seri Wahyuni Jaes & Sani Hussin…

Shahridzuan Selamat and his good friend Sabreena…

Another deserving winner – Nurul Aini…

Mastura Ahmad along with Eaglevision‘s Netty Fiona, an unsung heroine behind the scenes…

Hyrul Anuar and ex-official blogger of the Singapore Idol 3 season, Budi Iskandar… Nice get-up guys…

Nurul posing with beloved husband Sofian Roslan

Another shot of my favourite couple…

Riz Sunawan clowning around with Keatar H M and Hamzah Adon…

The good people at Mediacorp Suria, Siti Zuraidah, Raudaa Razak and Budi Iskandar…

The league of winners – Rosita Hussin, Suhaimi Yusof, Sharon Ismail and Sani Hussin…

Fauzie and Nurul rounding off the winners’ league…

Have you gotten your tickets yet???

Graphics photo courtesy of Mediacorp Suria…

The bienniel Pesta Perdana event, will make its long-awaited return this 28 March 2015 at the Mediacorp TV Theatre. The prestigious awards, now into its thirteenth edition, aims to recognise, acknowledge and honour the best talents in the local Malay television industry. It will also take viewers down memory lane with this year’s 50’s theme, in line with the ongoing SG50 celebrations. Pesta Perdana 13 (PP13) attracted more than 145 entries from 13 local production houses who are vying for top honours in the fiercely contested programme and performance award categories. A total of 32 awards and a special Lifetime TV Achievement award are up for grabs this year.

The PP13 media conference event was held at The Ballroom @ East Coast…

1. Mobile App: Toggle Now
2. Website: xinmsn.com/pestaperdana
3. Facebook: fb.com/mediacorpsuria

Code details are as follows:

MOST POPULAR MALE PERSONALITY

• Fir Rahman – Code: L1
• Hisyam Hamid – Code: L2
• Imam Shah – Code: L3
• Norman Ishak – Code: L4
• Syarif SleeQ – Code: L5

MOST POPULAR FEMALE PERSONALITY

• Farhana M Noor – Code: W1
• Mastura Ahmad – Code: W2
• Nadiah M Din – Code: W3
• Nurul Aini – Code: W4
• Wahyu Rahman – Code: W5

The media conference was hosted by Fiza O and Fauzie Laily…

I had the honour of being invited to attend the PP13 Media Conference held at The Ballroom @ East Coast on 4 March 2015, to announce all the award nominees. The event venue, as some of you might have known by now, is owned by Warna 94.2FM‘s A. B. Shaik. The media conference event saw the hosting chemistry of RIA 89.7FM‘s Fiza O and Fauzie Laily rekindled. Both of them had a field day tickling the guests with their witty and funny quips. They were also dressed according to the theme of the awards show this year, which is 50s Vintage. The event also saw Hyrul Anuar performing the theme song for Pesta Perdana, “Malam Gemilang“, accompanied by two of his good friends from AltoAura, Reyza Hamizan and Azura Goh.

Hyrul Anuar performing “Malam Gemilang“…

From the list of nominees announced this year, I note the wave of newer and younger generation of actors being nominated for their respective roles in the last two years. Which can only be good for the local entertainment industry, as they continue to hone their craft and complement the established and veterans in the scene. I’m also happy to see the likes of Farhana M Noor and Izyan Mellyna being nominated for Most Promising Actor / Actress. As I’ve said before in this blog, they have caught my eyes for their talent and potential, which can only get better. But do not discount the others nominated in their category. Asraf Amin, Atyy A. Malek (Nurhayati Abdul Malek) and Faizal Rahman will give them a run for their money.

Madam Zakiah Halim addressing the guests…

This year, there are also additions from Malaysia in the nominations list. The last Pesta Perdana event saw one nominee, Fauziah Nawi, whereas this year sees Iqram Dinzly, Keith Foo and Sharnaaz Ahmad being nominated. When asked by Berita Harian entertainment journalist Shahida Sarhid about the influx of Malaysian artistes into the nominations list, Mediacorp Malay Segment‘s head, Madam Zakiah Halim explained that they welcome the presence of the Malaysian actors over here, just like how our very own actors are welcomed over there and being nominated in several of their awards shows. This is good not only for bilateral exchange, but also the sharing of knowledge as well as good sparring in acting for both sets of countries’ actors. And I couldn’t agree more. I believe our actors can benefit from working with some of these actors, in turn even paving the way for them to work across the Causeway and hopefully, beyond.

Keith Foo certainly looked delighted with his nomination…

Pesta Perdana 13 will be telecast live on Mediacorp Suria on 28 March 2015 at 8:30pm. This year’s show will be hosted by Suhaimi Yusof and Huda Ali and the guest-of-honour will be Member of Parliament, Mr. Zaqy Mohamad. I end this entry with the full list of nominations as well as photographs taken during the media conference event.

Pesta Perdana 13 Nominations List

(Graphics poster courtesy of Mediacorp Suria)

I return once again with another APM2015 entry, my second instalment of this year’s edition. This time, I’ll be sharing miscellaneous shots I took during the “Red Carpet” event, the “Walk of the Stars” segment as well as a few shots I took post-event. Unfortunately there was no post-event reception this year and the “Walk of the Stars” segment had to be cut short due to time constraints before the event proper began, so there were not many photographs that I took and certainly less of a variety as compared to previous years.

Also since I am basically a one-man team, I had to leave the “Red Carpet” event at the hall’s entrance to take shots of the events transpiring on stage. In years past, I would have broken my entries into several postings, but this year, I’ll just post my miscellaneous snapshots under one entry, with my review coming much later, as I still have five thousand-odd photographs I need to sieve through and pick the best ones to be featured. Hope this filler entry before my review would help to satiate your thirst to view the photographs of the event. I will not put a timeframe to the publication of my review entry but I hope I will not take another month to post it up… :P

Mediacorp Suria reached a milestone on 30 January 2010 when it turned a decade old. Time sure flew by over the past ten years in a twinkling of an eye. I remembered when the channel was first launched on 30 January 2000, I just turned 21, was still serving my National Service, a swinging single, about 20kg lighter than what I am now and with more hair on my head. I was there at the auditorium that particular Sunday night, simply because the launch had two of my favourite artistes – KRU & Dato’ Siti Nurhaliza – performing.

Fast forward to the current times, how the local Malay entertainment industry has grown. Talent competitions like Chef Selebriti, Juara, Anugerah, Anugerah Band and Anugerah Skrin have produced stars like Hyrul Anuar, Fauzie Laily, Sarah Aqilah, Nurul Aini, Rancour, Huda Ali, Chef Khalid & Shah Iskandar just to name a few. Theatre activists like Zamberi Abdul Patah, Rafaat Hamzah and Sani Hussin have stamped their authority as class actors on the screens. Virtual unknowns like Fadly Awaludin, Fadhlur Rahman, Azzah Fariha and Fizah Nizam have come from nowhere to grace our screens in various acting and hosting stints. Radio personalities like Fiza O, Azmi Sempoi, Hafeez Glamour, Nity Baizura, Aura Shai and A B Shaik have also branched out and added colour to some of the shows they have hosted or acted in. Not forgetting, former child prodigies like Khairudin Samsudin & Shahrin Azhar known more for their acting & hosting capabilities have directed and produced award-winning shows on television. And the list goes on and on.

We might have our personal gripes and complaints that Suria is very fond of repeating shows almost every day. But the repeated shows somehow serve a reminder that locally produced shows are of some quality and standard with our regional counterparts, other than the fact that we could watch them again just for laughs or for memories’ sake or if we had missed watching when they were first televised. So much so that Suria programmes have received several regional and international recognitions at the New York Festival, International Promax & World Gold and the Asian Television Awards. Some of these programmes have also been acquired and televised by regional broadcasters such as Astro, NTV 9, Asian Food Channel, Radio Televisyen Malaysia‘s TV1 & TV2 as well as channels on Radio Television Brunei.

It was an honour and my utmost pleasure to have been invited to this media session with some of the main stars of the recently-concluded Suria Elektra event, which was televised live on Suria last Friday night, 5th February 2010 at 8.30pm. The media session was held at the Balmoral Hall of Royal Plaza On Scotts last Thursday 4th February 2010 2-4pm. The session was hosted by Suhaimi Yusof and the event was graced by Mr. Suhaimi Jais – head honcho of Suria, Najip Ali – the host of Suria Elektra, Dato’ Siti Nurhaliza, Taufik Batisah, Sarah Aqilah, Anang Hermansyah & Pianka from Indonesia. Media representatives from Suria, Sensasi, Berita Harian, The New Paper, Gumbira.com and Screenbox (Sungguh.com) were in attendance. Being the only local entertainment blogger around, I felt small as I wasn’t used to this. Neither was I prepared to interview nor ask questions as my approach has always been to review or feature rather than interviewing the artistes.

For those of you who frequent or have been to The Royal Plaza On Scotts, either to say your prayers at the musollah in the building or dine at The Carousel but do not know where the Balmoral Hall is at, the plush venue overlooks the hotel’s swimming pool on the 5th floor lending it a touch of class and elegance. The room itself with its lush interior decor was already the perfect place to hold an event like this. I was genuinely impressed the moment I walked into the room and thought that they could not have held it at a better place than that. On the opposite side of the windows facing the pool, the glass panels faced the greenery outside, soothing the eyes and lending some wanted shade into the room on a day the sun was scorching hot and the sweltering heat outside was quite unbearable. As I walked into the room, Anang Hermansyah & Pianka were already there.

I did not waste time in requesting Pianka to do a short greeting for my blog, something similar to the one that Taufik Batisah did in the last entry. I know many of you dunno who these three girls who make up Pianka are, unless you’ve followed their progress in the inaugural season of Gangstarz, the popular reality show across the Causeway in search of the next big group to hit the entertainment industry there. Pianka is made up of Nita Lesmana, Sherine Farani & Puspita Wardhani. They are currently based in Jakarta having left KRU Records to pursue their music careers in their own motherland. The group derived its name from the term “Pianica” and are no slouches at playing musical instruments or giving vocal coachings. Nita and Sherine are qualified vocal instructors and the latter has a penchant for playing the violin. My hairs stood as I was simply bowled over by their vocal prowess, hearing them sing when I recorded their greeting.

I wanted to go over and chat with Anang, maybe ask him to record a greeting for me but he was quite pre-occupied, either chatting with the other media representatives or having a quiet time on his own and enjoying the light refreshments that were served. He looked quite tired judging by the look on his face and I found out later on from a very credible source close to him that he was indeed exhausted and hungry. Past experiences taught me to respect the privacies of artistes or know when they wished to be left alone. Some people might be quick to condemn that these people can be unapproachable or aloof just by looking at their faces. Anang was there for me to “attack” when he was all alone, but I thought the guy needed some rest since afterall, he just arrived from Indonesia. So I left him to be on his own especially since throughout the two-hour session, he wore a look which alternated from boredom to exhaustion.

Mr. Suhaimi Jais kicked off the session by thanking everyone who came and describing how the station has progressed over the years. He also outlined his hopes on how the next ten years would be like, with more quality shows in the pipeline, of course with help from the various production houses in Singapore. The artistes in attendance then took turns to introduce themselves and thanking Suria for giving them the opportunity to grace this star-studded event. People like Sarah Aqilah, Taufik Batisah, Najip Ali and Dato’ Siti Nurhaliza also described how their careers have shaped and how Suria have played a part in their progression and involvement with the station over the past ten years. Indeed, listening to them was like going back in time to shows like “Bersama Siti” and “KOTT“, two shows that have left indelible marks in the minds of viewers.

Once the session was over and it was time for the artistes to have private sessions with the media representatives, I took time to alternate between taking photographs of what was transpiring before me, i.e. the various interviews being made and chatting with some of the guests in attendance. Taufik surprised me by coming up to me and saying he read my Tweet prior to coming. I had left him a message beforehand saying I would be seeing him at the event in reply to his Tweet that stated he was going for a haircut and then to the event. We were not formally introduced before this even though we did take a photograph together at the post-event reception of Anugerah Planet Muzik 2008. Though we chatted briefly about Twitter‘s impact, he immediately struck me as someone with no airs whatsoever and exuding loads of charm. No wonder the ladies go gaga over him and I don’t blame them, as I experienced it first hand myself.

Always the most sought after person at media sessions and press conferences, it was no wonder that Dato’ Siti Nurhaliza was one of the last to leave. I did not get to chat with her as she had to rush off for rehearsals at Mediacorp TV Theatre but at least she was kind enough to stop for awhile to record this greeting for you and I hope you would continue to visit this site for more updates, especially as I still have yet to update on Fiesta Suria, Suria Elektra, Fiesta Famili and Glenn Fredly‘s Lovevolution concert. I will try to update twice a week so I can space out my entries before RIA‘s Big Bash event on 21st February 2010. Thank you once again to the good people at Mediacorp Suria for inviting me to the Suria Elektra Media Session last Thursday. It was indeed a memorable event to savour, especially since Dato’ Siti Nurhaliza and Anang did not attend the Suria Elektra post-event reception.

The Event Pictures In Summary

Where it was held at…

Calm before the storm…

Event host Suhaimi Yusof… Sarah Aqilah looking a bit tensed… That was understandable since she was sitting beside Dato’ Siti Nurhaliza…I think any newbie out there would have felt the same thing as well…

Mr. Suhaimi Jais, head honcho of Suria…

Najip Ali, host of Suria Elektra…

I am sure she needs no further introduction…

Likewise this suave and charming gentleman…

Anang is very soft spoken and a man of few words…

Sarah Aqilah hopes to share her experiences in ten years’ time…

Pianka felt honoured to be invited as guest artistes…

A group photo before the session ended…

Anang being interviewed for Persada Seni…

Likewise Dato’ Siti Nurhaliza…

And Taufik Batisah as well…

Whilst waiting for their turn to be interviewed, Pianka gamely posed for the cameras. From left – Sherine Farani, Puspita Wardhani & Nita Lesmana…

Sarah Aqilah had to rush off for rehearsals but still had time for one last shot…

Just before she left, Dato’ Siti was still in the mood for a few last shots…

Taufik Batisah wishes Suria a Happy 10th Anniversary…

Just as I had begun my previous entry, Mediacorp Suria reached a milestone on 30 January 2010 when it turned a decade old. And to commemorate its ten years of existence, the premier Malay television channel in Singapore held two big bashes within the space of a week – Fiesta Suria held at East Coast Park on 30 January 2010 itself and Suria Elektra on Friday 5th February 2010. While I will update this domain on photographs of the beach event on a slightly later date, I’m sure the one that people have vested interest in, is the Suria Elektra event.

Suria Elektra featured a stellar gathering of around 100 artistes and these included the unsung performers like the dancers, under the direction of veteran choreographer Eddy, the back-up singers under the tutelage of vocal coach Ann Hussein and the musicians led by Amri Amin, a well-respected music arranger and director. The two-hour live musical extravaganza was not only an evening of musical splendour but it also celebrated the unveiling of Suria’s new logo:

The new Suria logo reflects the channel’s growth. The strong bold letter “S” symbolises the channel’s strength in its aspiration to strife for new creative ideas. The bright orange signifies freshness and vibrancy while the “smiley” shape below the letter “S” characterises the channel as a “feel-good” channel that continues to shine with the viewers. The logo was officially unveiled by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who was the guest-of-honour, during the show itself.

Suria‘s prime-time viewership has grown by 33% from 2008 to 2009 with the channel’s local contents constantly been its top-rated programmes. In a press release statement, Mr Suhaimi Jais, Senior Vice President of Suria Programming & Promotions and Mediacorp Eaglevision said that the challenge for them is to continuously improve their contents and keeping them fresh. The change in logo also portrays Suria‘s aspirations to be more innovative and providing up-to-date content.

It was a throwback to the year 2000 when the Prime Minister who was then-Deputy Prime Minister, had also launched the first official Malay channel on our shores. The days when our Malay programmes had to share a common channel with the arts, Tamil as well as children’s programmes now seem like a distant memory. Over the years we have also seen the launching of dedicated channels to cater to our Indian community (Vasantham) as well as for the children / arts / documentaries / lifestyle (Okto).

Before the show kicked off in earnest, there was a red-carpet and pre-show cocktail event. Hosted by roving hosts, Huda Ali & Rilla Melati, clips of the event were shown in brief and it looked grand seeing the invited artistes dressed in their very best. I did not attend the event as my invitation card did not include being invited to it. Even if I was invited, I doubt I would be able to make it as I was still stuck at work right up till 7.30pm, when the card clearly stated that we were to be there at 7:00pm!!! Good thing when I reached Caldecott Broadcast Centre, I was still considered early and had time to make my way into the auditorium. The only downside was having to negotiate my way in and being resorted to strict security checks. But that was understandable as the event was graced by the who’s who in our Malay community circle, distinguished dignitaries and of course, our Prime Minister.

The show kicked off with aplomb, Sarah Aqilah, the winner of Anugerah 2009, came onstage to sing Mulan Jameela‘s “Makhluk Tuhan Paling Seksi“. It came as a big surprise to me that this song was able to be performed on national television and in front of very, very important people who made up part of the audience. You might wonder and question, “What is wrong with that???” Here’s the ironical part. This song was not approved to be aired by our local radio stations due to its apparently suggestive nature, and yet here we are seeing it being performed on a grand scale. I wonder if the so-called “ban” would now be lifted as a result.

I thought the choice of having Najip Ali & Nurul Aini as hosts was spot-on. For someone who has not done live hosting for a few years, I thought Nurul did extremely well, even to the point of improvising her script at certain points to give it an edgier punch. Their chemistry throughout the show, grew as the minutes wore on. Obviously Nurul didn’t look out of place even though she did admit, she was very nervous prior to the show. One could understand her fears, especially since this was afterall a grand event watched by thousands at home and very, very important people in the auditorium.

Sleeq & Maiya Rahman performing a song specially composed in tribute to popular programmes televised on Suria over the past ten years…

It was apt that Eka Mairina & Kunjung Whitaker performed together onstage as they’re our two famous Indonesian imports whose raw potentials were polished in the Anugerah competition. I had envisaged that someday they would perform together but I did not expect it to be this soon. For the record, Eka became champion in 2003 while Kunjung was the runner-up in last year’s competition. That night, they sang the classic hit “Jelingan Manja” and was accompanied by renowned saxaphonist Jari.

Anang Hermansyah performing his current hit “Separuh Jiwaku Pergi“. The whole auditorium felt his emotions flowing in the song and he was given a rousing ovation by a whole row of female personalities that included the likes of Seri Wahyuni Jaes, Mastura Ahmad, Ariati Tyeb and Rita Zahara…

This particular segment whereby Anang and Sarah sang the former’s composition “Belajarlah Untuk Cinta” was both cute and cynical at the same time – Cute because Anang was being cheeky and romantic by holding onto Sarah‘s hands throughout the song and grinning from ear to ear, and cynical because the words to the song was an obvious dig to his ex-wife. They obviously were a joy to listen to, showing good vocal harmony together and having the chemistry that lent credence to the performance. Sarah who was initially coy, showed the audience why she deserved to be crowned Anugerah 2009 champion by hitting the high notes with nonchalant ease. Not that regular viewers needed any reminders.

Vadi, Kym Ng and Suhaimi Yusof cracking up the audience with their short skit…

The girls of Pianka definitely did not disappoint when they sang their first single “Mau Yang Besar“. Though the song is more than a year old, having been included in the Cicakman 2 official soundtrack album, I’ve yet to hear it on this shores. I just hope the slightly suggestive title doesn’t go the same way as Mulan Jameela‘s “Makhluk Tuhan Paling Seksi“, because compared to the latter which I agree has some undesirable tones, the former actually portrays how some ladies’ preferences for material stuff, are conditions warranted in order to win over their hearts. This song has been playing at the back of my head ever since I met them at the Suria Elektra Media Session. Kudos to Edry KRU on another masterpiece composition. He’s not a millionaire for nothing or just by introducing mere pretty faces in the music industry across the Causeway.

As winners of the inaugural Anugerah Band competition, I expected Rancour to at least have more minutes to their segment, cos Sarah Aqilah appeared in no less than three items that night. Surely being winners themselves, they deserved slightly more, yes???

Eiss & “Papa Rock“, Ramli Sarip, singing the latter’s old hit “Teratai“. The hairs stood in awe of their performance…

Ramli Sarip then took centrestage singing “Keliru“…

He was ably accompanied by Zoul (left) and Alif Putra (right). For the uninitiated, Zoul is the younger brother of M. Nasir and Alif was the winner of Best Musician at the inaugural Anugerah Band competition in 2008, where he turned out with the group Putra.

This segment featuring the new faces of Suria over the past decade left me and the audience scratching our heads as to whether it was necessary to have in the first place or merely a filler of sorts because it felt more like a fashion showcase where models do the catwalk along the runway. Even though I have no qualms about their selections and felt all ten of them deserved to be there, I just can’t help thinking that besides the good-lookers, maybe perhaps they could have included the breakthrough artistes or artistes who are plus-sized but still became household names like Fadhilah Samsudin (Erlin Montel), Zamberi Abdul Patah (Cik Leh in “Jeritan Sepi 2“) and Haryani Othman (Cikgu Bedah in “Tahu Nahu“). Granted, you need to look good to be on television, but a more realistic perspective could probably have given these people a fairer opportunity to receive some form of recognition for their good performances and making viewers remember them by.

Unlike his haunting hit “Angkasa” which has now topped the local radio charts for a ninth straight week, I found Hady Mirza‘s next single “Hentikan“, taken off his “Sang Penyanyi” album, which he sang that night, needing a lot of getting used to as compared to the former. “Angkasa” is easier on the ears as it is a typical ballad and sappy song. What made it even more special was the fact that it was Hady‘s first Malay single since “Jangan Memandu Di Pinggir Jalan“. However, the message the song “Hentikan” brings with it with regards to world peace, ending strifes and wars I believe, is more important and that’s what make this next single of his a song of pristine substance. I also do not dare to bet against this song following the footsteps of “Angkasa” and topping the local charts in time to come.

When Suria Channel was first launched on 30 January 2000, Siti Nurhaliza was slowly making waves as the hottest singing sensation this part of South-East Asia was witnessing. Back then when she donned a striking kimono and singing “Kurniaan Dalam Samaran“, I doubt that anyone of us, me included, would have envisaged seeing her being conferred the status of a “Dato‘” within a ten-year period. But such has been her colourful journey and without waxing too much lyrical on her achievements that need no further reminding, she has definitely gone on to become a brand name that the whole Nusantara has come to love and in the case of certain quarters, dislike. The title bestowed on her was a matter of when, not if. She would have gotten it even if she had not married a “Dato‘” as well.

That night Dato’ Siti Nurhaliza sang three songs to the delight of the watching audience. The first, “Batas Asaku” was taken off the official soundtrack of the movie “Perempuan Berkalung Sorban“, which was based on a novel by Abidah el Khalieqy, and was first published by the Yayasan Kesejahteraan Fatayat in Jogjakarta in 2001. After addressing the audience, she followed up her segment with a medley of Bukan Cinta Biasa and Destinasi Cinta, two songs that needed no further introductions. I guess in any appearance she makes, be it for a showcase, a concert or even a brief cameo, the audience would never get enough of her and that night was no different.

I certainly did not expect Taufik Batisah to sing “Sesuatu Janji” taken off his “All Because Of You” album, simply for the sole reason that he already has a more recent album entitled “Suria Hatiku“, one that has produced hits after hits with every single being introduced on the airwaves. But was I complaining??? Not one bit, cos amongst all his songs, this is my personal favourite and little wonder too, since I got him to sing this song when he recorded a greeting for this blog which I posted in the entry before last. I half-expected him to do his somersault, which he executed when he sang the same song at Anugerah Planet Muzik 2008, but I guess the space constraints didn’t allow him to. Or perhaps that special moment in 2008 was reserved for the regional audience. Still, I enjoyed it all the same.

The show came to a rousing end when the Anugerah alumnus, which consisted of Fauzie Laily, Maiya Rahman, Hyrul Anuar and Eka Mairina came on stage to sing Adam & Stacy‘s “Menggegar Dunia“. This was followed by Sarah Aqilah appearing for the third time that night, along with Eiss and Kunjung singing Faizal Tahir‘s “Gemuruh“. I just felt the first song, which is punchier as compared to the second one, would have been a better choice to open or end the show. The performance which reeked of zest and energy, as demonstrated by Fauzie, Maiya, Hyrul and Eka, would have been a fairer reflection of what Suria is all about – Vibrancy.

If there were any complaints or misgivings I had, then perhaps it would have been the fact that certain people were apparently overlooked for this event. The show was meant to be a celebration of the past ten years and it was fair to have those performing or those who made an appearance that night being given the opportunity to do so. Yes it was commendable to have the Anugerah alumnus between the years 2003–2009 performing, but what about those before that, most notably Aqmal Noor (winner in 2004), Indra Hamzah (winner in 2001) and Rudy Djoharnaen (winner in 2002)??? While Aqmal is slowly making inroads as seen by his win at last year’s Rentak Singapura event for his composition entitled “Warkah Dunia“, the other two have been relatively quiet and not heard of since.

Suria also had non-singing competitions like Juara (2002) and Anugerah Skrin (2006) in search of the next big thing in acting and hosting. Though the potentials of Nurul Aini as the night’s co-host and Huda Ali as roving host during the pre-event cocktail reception, were discovered and eventually polished to be who they are now, I hope no one has forgotten the likes of Firdaus Abdul Rahman (who appeared as “Captain Zero” in the comedy sitcom “Ahakz” and lately as the teacher in “Dikir Putri“) and Shahril Wahid (who played the handicapped character in “Gerimis Di Hati“), winners of Juara and Anugerah Skrin (Male Category) respectively. Both are accomplished theatre actors and they have definitely brought their experiences to the screens. One can only recall how Shahril‘s character in “Gerimis Di Hati” was excellently portrayed and I wouldn’t bet against him winning something at next year’s Pesta Perdana event just for that role itself.

If the segments that night were already too packed for a two-hour programme, then perhaps they could have just made cameo appearances, just like the catwalk segment that featured the new faces of the past decade. I think a small gesture like that could have gone a long way in refreshing the minds of viewers, that these guys also had had their moments of joy when they created history with the channel. I hope in future, winners like them would be remembered, even if they’re mentioned in brief or shown short clips of their performances. They are all unique in their own rights, skilled in their respective crafts, and should not be reduced to mere footnotes or forgotten altogether. I could be wrong in my analysis though, as perhaps they could have been invited to perform or make an appearance, but could not make it due to personal commitments. Shahril for the record, was invited as a guest that night.

The finale…

I just found it extremely unfortunate that on a week our premier Malay channel celebrated its milestone, unsavoury news in the print and alternative media with regards to a home-made video of a former actress / host, as well as news of the arrests of a famous comedian and a rock singer came to light. Everyone seems to have an opinion one way or another about these incidents as they’re being talked about almost everywhere on the Net. Even my blog statistics jumped because people were searching for the name of that former actress / host and their search results led to this domain. I will not delve too much on it, but I hope the public’s opinions on artistes in general will still be as positive as ever and not look down on them nor stereotype this career path as was famously portrayed in Allahyarham Tan Sri P. Ramlee‘s classic “Ibu Mertuaku“.

Like any offender, I believe the people who have made the news of late, should not be made outcasts or pariahs throughout their lives. We all make mistakes, whether they’re minor or severe, and the only way for them to lead normal lives again after this, is for us to offer them support & encouragement to be better people and accept them as part of society. Do not ostracise them just because as artistes, they are expected to be role models discerning youngsters look up to for inspiration. I’m actually heartened by the fact that fellow artistes have voiced their support in one way or another via their Tweets and Facebook statuses. This spirit of togetherness and protecting one another is what I admire and applaud, even though we’ve all heard before about the industry being harsh and bitchy due to a lot of backbiting.

Which reminds me of this entry I typed last July entitled “Be True To Yourselves“. When all these incidents happened, became the talking points and ended up being tabloid fodder (ok granted we only have one tabloid paper in our midst), I was eeriely reminded of what I outlined through several pointers in that particular posting. I certainly did not expect some of what I mentioned to be uncannily prophetic. Though I will not quote everything on what I typed back then, I will just end this entry with three paragraphs from that post I made, which relate to what has been happening around us of late and I hope we would all learn something from these recent episodes:

“Which is why I hope that up-and-coming artistes like our new batch of Anugerah contestants as well as those that are already established, would succeed without having any skeletons in the closet or deceive the fans through cunning ability spinning yarns after yarns of crap. One can put up a false front in front of the public, pull the wool over the eyes of the legions of fans, but shit catches up with the bull eventually since the latter needs to defecate afterall. In other words, one can only go so far with bullshit but life has a way of revealing dirty little secrets through time and when one leasts expects it.

Be thankful that there will always be an ever caring and protective arm around your shoulder, shielding you away from any possible backlash from your own fans or the community, when the paparazzis come a-calling, catching you in the act with your pants down. Cos too many of our local acts think they can get away with misdemeanours done mostly with the opposite sex or through various forms of intoxications. We are afterall, living in a society that is still conservative and sensitive. Being in the public eye, one should know better than to do things that could jeopardise their growing reputation as an established brand in the industry.

This entry, even though it looks as though I’m dissing someone or some people, it has to be said that it is also a reminder I want to share with all local artistes out there because I want to see our small industry succeed, without having to go through nasty episodes, which would eventually lead to a lot of unhappiness and ostracising. Everything that is to be done should be from the heart, laced with integrity and filled with unbridled honesty. That’s how one achieves blessed sustenance in any work or endeavour that we put our will into. I am very sure that most of our local acts are true to themselves and honest in their approach to their craft. For that, I will always continue to support our industry, no matter how much we seem to lack in several areas of professionalism.”

P.S. You must be wondering where are the post-event reception photographs. This entry was already too long for my liking that I’ve decided to split it into two. I’ll try to upload the photographs before Monday. Till then, I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this review and thank you Suria for inviting me to the event as well as providing useful information which I have included in this entry…

Have you gotten your tickets yet???

(Graphics poster courtesy of Mediacorp Suria)

Due to my heavy work commitments last year, Anugerah Planet Muzik 2015 (APM2015) did not get a proper coverage be it in terms of my customary annual review as well as the usual promo leading up to the event in this domain of mine, even though I did share photographs of the Walk of the Stars and Red Carpet segments during the actual event night. I also did not attend the media conference held at Orchard Hotel when the organisers released the list of nominees back then. Hence I would like to apologise if any of you had waited for me to post them up but ended up not seeing any on this blogsite. I’ll try to make it up this year, which is why this particular post takes precedence, less than a fortnight before the event makes its long-awaited return. This year, Anugerah Planet Muzik 2016 (APM2016), debuts at the newly-opened Theatre @ Mediacorp at Stars Avenue on 30 September 2016.

Fiza O and A B Shaik were the hosts of the media conference..

As with previous years, before the event proper, there will always be the traditional media conference to announce the nominees of the upcoming awards show. This year, the media conference was again held at the premises of Orchard Hotel on 20 July 2016 and was hosted by RIA 89.7FM‘s Fiza O and Warna 94.2FM‘s A B Shaik. Guests who mostly made up of local artistes, came to the event with high hopes of being nominated or at the very least, to soak in the atmosphere. For those still new to the scene, it was an eye-opening experience for them to just be in the same room as other household names, an opportunity for them to get to know one another and have mini networking sessions amongst themselves. Guests that day were also treated to performances by newbies Haikal Ali, Din Ilango and The Chapters, as well as Kalysa Aziz. All four displayed their worth on stage and personally, yours truly thoroughly enjoyed their respective performances.

The panel consisting of Mr. Hassan Salleh, Assistant Vice-President (Malay Broadcast Division) & Manja Editor, Ms. Zakiah Halim, Chief of Malay Broadcast Division and Dr. Edmund Lam, Chief Executive Officer of COMPASS, addressing the audience on the experience of selecting the nominees as well as giving nuggets on what to expect in this year’s awards show.

Looking at the final list of nominees this year, I personally feel the local pool of talents were unfortunate not to receive more nominations especially in the regional categories. Last year, Iman’s League made the all-important breakthrough for the Singapore acts and won the Best Band (Regional) award over more established names like Noah, Sheila On 7, Akim & The Magistret and Bunkface. Many netizens especially those in Singapore wondered who they were and cried foul over their win. Personally I was disgusted by the reaction as I thought national pride would at least overcome any emotions over their own personal favourites. Iman’s League though they are quite under the radar here, they have since made inroads in other Asian countries like Korea and even Malaysia, albeit in the underground scene. Their win gave so much hope and inspiration for other acts to follow suit that anything is possible if the quality of song is on par with the other established regional acts.

Strong support and attendance by our local pool of talents and representatives at the media conference…

This year, the organisers of APM2016 (Mediacorp Suria, Warna 94.2FM, RIA 89.7FM and Manja Magazine) received 420 nominations from the various music distributors and record labels from Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. Nominees are not just solely from the three countries mentioned. Last year, the awards show received their very first nominees from Brunei (Aziz Harun) and Philippines (Mark Adam). This year, Shunpei Nakagawa became the very first Japanese to be nominated through his collaboration with Malaysia‘s Indah Ruhaila with their song “Aishiteru Selamanya” amongst the five nominees in the Best Collaboration (Artiste) category. Hark back to 2012 and you will note Cassidy Anderson from Australia as another nominee from outside the Nusantara region. As the name “Planet Muzik” implies, nominees from other countries are much welcomed. Speaking of Aziz Harun, he will be the third Bruneian after Faiz Nawi (2005) and Jazz Hayat (2013) to make a performance on the APM stage this coming 30th September 2016 (APM Wikipedia page admin please take note!!!).

Haikal Ali‘s “Bertemu Kembali” is such a haunting hit, I will not be surprised if he bags either Best New Artiste (Male) or Best Singapore Song awards or even both. His appearances at all three media conferences for APM2016 (including in Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta) showed the organiser’s confidence in his potential…

I had a small chat with Ms. Zakiah Halim during the reception afterwards on what we can expect during the show as well as voicing out some of my doubts over the choice of venue for this year’s event. I had attended three shows already at the new venue earlier this year (“Anda Mahu Rok?“, Sinar Lebaran 2016 and Raya Oh Yeah!) and somehow the place does not give me good vibes in terms of seating arrangement and how much the stage and auditorium as a whole resembles a school hall setting. Without giving much away except for a coy smile and a twinkle in her eyes, Ms. Zakiah Halim only let on that they will do what they can to make the stage more accomodating both to the performers as well as audience. She did elaborate however, on the choice of performers this year. As you will note from the promotional poster, a bulk of the performers are not the same faces you see year in and out. In that respect, it is a refreshing change of line-up. And as always, amongst the performers, there will be deserving winners in their respective categories.

Sufie Rashid, together with Taufik Batisah, are the two who got the most nominations amongst the local acts with six each…

Anyway, with less than a week to go before voting your favourites in the popular categories (local and regional) ends, let me just remind you to do the yeoman service for them and log on to Toggle.SG and vote before 23rd September 2016 23:59hrs. Every year you’ll get the sour grapes complaining about undeserving winners, but if you don’t vote, or expect others to do it for you, then you just have to suck it in when the final results are announced on the actual awards night. I did receive several invites via my personal inbox / private messages in my social media accounts from artistes who were nominated in the popular categories to either vote for them or help pitch in for them. I have to apologise that being a media outlet, I must be fair and neutral without showing any personal favours to anyone. What I just did was remind those reading this entry to go out and cast your votes for your respective favourites. I can only afford sufficient enough gesture like this as my way of helping.

A group photograph with all the local artistes, representatives of record labels and artiste managements, sponsors and organisers of APM2016…

Anugerah Planet Muzik 2016 is presented to you once again by One Drop Perfumes. Main sponsors are Pos T.K.I. and Sensuous By Shannz (Red Carpet event), Co-sponsors – House of Dre and Official Transportation by Uncle Sam Auto Trading Pte. Ltd. Official broadcasters as in previous years are Astro Ria and NET Mediatama Indonesia (NET TV). The awards show is supported by Media Development Authority (MDA) and Composers & Authors Society of Singapore (COMPASS) and is brought to you by Mediacorp Suria, Warna 94.2FM, RIA 89.7FM and Manja Magazine. The awards show will be telecast live via Mediacorp Suria on 30th September 2016 at 9:00pm. You can also catch the livestreaming of the show via Toggle.SG, which includes the Red Carpet event at 8:30pm, and will not be televised on Suria, or the simulcast via the two radio stations Warna 94.2FM and RIA 89.7FM.

(List of nominees courtesy of Mediacorp Suria)

Graphics poster courtesy of Mediacorp Suria…

It’s been three long years since I last did a proper Anugerah Planet Muzik review entry. I personally did not expect not posting any review entries to be this long, given my previous penchant and eagerness to share my views and thoughts on the annual event. Personal commitments got in the way and time wasn’t kind enough for me to post them up. By the time I entered the second month after each event with photographs still not properly edited, I already lost that momentum and passion to type something out. Anyway, I had this feeling that I was recycling and rehashing my thoughts year in and out, to a point I felt like a broken record. I hope that the time I had been keeping my thoughts to myself would do me good, to evaluate the show with as much fairness and giving benefit of doubt where shortcomings are concerned. The question I have in my mind right now is, where do I even begin??? Hahahaha gosh it does feel a bit rusty after three years…

Ayda Jebat opened the show with “Nakal Nakal Nakal“…

I think for a start, let’s talk about the slogan for this year which came with the hashtag “#GilerTakGerek“. I tried to hark back to previous APMs before this, but I struggle to remember if they ever had a slogan or theme such as this. I believe this year was the first time they had an additional hashtag to go along with the usual “#APM“, followed by the event year (#APM2017 being the latest for this year). I think it was a fresh move to inject a bit of hipness to the event, in line with how much technology and social media have taken much of our attention on a daily basis. I initially didn’t like the usage of the word “Giler“, being the language Nazi that I am, moreso when they first announced it, we were still in the midst of our annual Malay Language Month. However, to put it into the context and lingo of today, the spelling reflected a fun factor rather than a serious element to being crazy. The usage of the word “Gerek“, even though we seldom hear people here using it now, is still synonymous with us Singaporeans as compared to our neighbours. I think generally this was a uniqueness of its own, to highlight a Singaporean flavour to the event.

The addition of Dzar Ismail and Nabila Huda to the line-up of hosts for this year, gave the show a certain freshness…

Since my last review in 2014, we’ve had a change of venues, from the rather spacious Suntec City Convention Centre, to the relatively spanking new MES Theatre @ Mediacorp. This year’s event was its second held at the new Mediacorp Campus at Stars Avenue. I do have a well-documented love-hate relationship with this new theatre, more hate than love actually, as my close circle of friends can testify. Well “hate” is actually too strong a word for me to use. I would probably use the word “dislike” to express my thoughts on this matter. For one, it is further away from previous locations like the earlier-mentioned Suntec City Convention Centre, Max Pavilion, Singapore Expo, and Singapore Indoor Stadium. North or east-siders like myself will find travelling here a bane, which is also partly a contributing factor why I have slowed down my commitments to cover events and answering invitations to attend a particular programme or show by Mediacorp Suria.

One of my favourite performances of the night, Gloria Jessica teaming up with Aisyah Aziz and Haikal Ali…

My main gripe with the theatre is that it resembles a lot like a typical school hall setting, and I know I am not alone in having these same thoughts. The stage also looks smaller and limited than previous venues. The opening performance that featured Ayda Jebat and her dancers, as well as Maher Zain and his accompanying vocal group, felt a bit overcrowded. I observed the dancers especially, had to hold back some of their moves so as not to bump into one another. The one thing I dislike the most about this theatre is that I am no longer able to sit on the floor in front of the first row to capture close-up shots, just like in past APMs or even the times I covered shows at the old Mediacorp Theatre at the now-vacant Caldecott Broadcast Centre at Andrew Road. At this new place, photographers now either have to stand behind the sound engineers somewhere in the middle section or sit on the floor along the aisles by the side.

I know for one, the audience enjoyed this particular segment featuring Hael Husaini, Virgoun and Sufi Rashid…

The positive thing I can say about this theatre is that it boasts a sound system which is very good. The acoustics and clarity is as good as the Esplanade, if not better. Well it is certainly much better than the one at Star Vista Theatre, a stone’s throw away. I also observed with this new place, the organisers save quite a bit on their budget, not to mention having the autonomy to dictate how the additional segments like the Red Carpet segment would pan out without having to splurge more than they should. I noticed that even with a venue as good as Suntec City Convention Centre, there were trade-offs, in that certain things had to be compromised or made do without altogether. The ones that come to mind were the “Walk of the Stars” segment, where the nominees / award presenters / performers were introduced to the audience by walking to the stage from the back and to their seats, which I personally felt was a poor man’s version of the Red Carpet segment and the lack of a post-event reception afterwards, which had a number of local and overseas guests / performers grumbling quietly afterwards, as they were famished after a long night. With the event held at the MES Theatre, these factors were taken care of and the event looked to be proper as it should be.

Award presenters Hannah Delisha and Izzue Islam…

Speaking of the Red Carpet segment, there was a notable difference between last year and this year. Last year, we saw the nominated artistes as well as the performers and award presenters arriving via limousines with both sides of the fences teeming with screaming fans like any typical Red Carpet segments you see around the world. This year, they did away with the limos but made the concourse level a long and winding stretch going into the MES Theatre. The Red Carpet segment literally began when the nominated artistes, performers and award presenters appeared from the lift just next to the escalator on the third floor. From there they had to pass by the specially-erected stage for the fans to see them clearly, as they were interviewed by newly-minted radio presenter, Kyrul Ashrie and Nity Baizura. After that it was stop after stop as they were greeted by a horde of waiting media brigade, eager to interview or photograph them, yours truly included.

Malaysian heartthrob Farid Kamil and Singapore‘s up-and-coming Sofia Dendroff…

I must say I was surprised by the number of media people that attended this time around, not only from Singapore, but Malaysia and Indonesia as well. I basically had to jostle for a comfortable position so as not to block their view when they were filming, taking photographs or recording short clips. Previously this Red Carpet segment or a lack thereof, was one of my main complaint agendas whenever I do up any reviews of Anugerah Planet Muzik. Not anymore. The organisers have done very well to make this a much-hyped affair with live Facebook updates and online screenings via Toggle. For that they deserved much of the accolades for the effort to make the show as colourful as it should be. I saw the improvement being made since 2015 when the show was still at Suntec City Convention Centre, but I think with the venue of the event being at their homeground, more improvements and upgrade in outlook were able to be executed without running foul of the venue management, if any. They even have what I call a “battle command centre” for all the live social media updates as the show went on.

Actress-singer Kilafairy and another newbie to the local Malay entertainment scene, Zachary Ibrahim…

Looking at the list of performers that night, I was surprised that this time round, there was a distinct lack of star names, save for those whom we know from our own respective countries or maybe the few established ones known to the three countries like Afgan, Ella and Maher Zain. For the very first time in the history of Anugerah Planet Muzik, there were no performing bands featured. Hard to believe but it was the reality. Up till the last moment, I had expected the organisers to pull a last-minute surprise and have at least one band performing, but that was not to be. Even though we were devoid of distinct star names, the ones who were onstage did not disappoint at all, at least to yours truly. The surprising thing was, even with a lack of stellar names, it was a sold-out event!!! The last we had a sold-out APM was back in 2014, when the event was at Suntec City Convention Centre, of which the main draw were legendary group Wings and Noah, plus a bevy of household names like Cakra Khan, Judika, Dato’ Rossa, Taufik Batisah, Dato’ Siti Nurhaliza, Joe Flizzow, Sezairi and more.

My personal favourite pairing of the night, the gorgeous Janna Nick and my “twin”, Fakkah Fuzz…

I am not sure about those at home cos last year, I observed comments made online that the show was boring. I think there is a lot of difference watching at home and seeing it live. I do agree to some extent when I watched the repeat telecast much later, that visually it looked a bit plain. If I were to make a comparison with last year’s and this year’s editions, I think the latter was much better. Last year’s instalment had Caliph Buskers and Sufi Rashid to thank cos their respective performances individually and collectively together, were the highlights of the night, while the rest were forgotten in a hurry. Also the stage setup made it looked as though we were watching a variety show like Rapsodi or Muzika Extravaganza. However, I noted that the organisers had made visual improvements to the stage design, layout and backdrop for this year’s show. Maybe the show itself is meant to be appreciated by watching it live with our very own eyes and not via the television screens. We have to give the organisers a bit of leeway as it was their first time afterall doing it at the MES Theatre last year. I believe this year it was much better, as most online comments I monitored were kinder and more on the positive side.

Afgan doing what he knows best, making hearts flutter with his voice, smile and dimples…

I was surprised that Desta was called upon again to host this year’s APM. As I recalled his performance hosting last year, he was a bit lost and tried too hard to match up with the energy of his co-hosts Suhaimi Yusof and Sherry Alhadad. I was ok with the initial selection of the other hosts, Dzar Ismail and Nabila Huda, as I know both exude energy and fire. But lo!!! Desta proved me wrong on the night and emerged the “Man-of-the-match“, in the words of his co-host Dzar. He had the audience laughing to all his jokes and while those that were made at last year’s event looked a bit forced or unnatural at times, his punchlines this year were absolutely spot-on. He even had time to poke fun at several members of the audience unannounced. I was proud to see Dzar Ismail given the honours to co-host the awards show, representing Singapore. It gave the show a bit of freshness instead of the usual faces. He also has come a long way since being the raw and wide-eyed newbie in the scene. A word of advice to Dzar, he might want to slow down his talking pace, as at times he sounded a bit rushed and his words lost on our ears. At least no one tried to outdo the other like some of the previous editions and there was a nice balance of energy between the three. The best host so far for me in recent times, who gave their co-hosts equal limelight to shine was, and still is, Jihan Muse back in 2015. She’s adorable and I’m a big fan!!!

A beaming Ms. Zakiah Halim presenting the International Breakthrough Award…

I would like to touch upon the award presenters. I assume, based on the reactions of the audience, the only ones they and probably those at home enjoyed watching were Janna Nick and Fakkah Fuzz and slightly later on, Afgan and Fiza O. With all due respect to the other presenters, I think generally the audience didn’t know who they were or there was hardly any chemistry or relevant banter between them. I remember there was one award presenter who presented twice in previous editions, but you could hear a pin drop when they were on stage with murmurings around me asking them to be quick with the award presentations. The same thing happened a few times on the night, and I don’t think the audience could tolerate the antics of some of the presenters, who tried to act cool but only served to turn them off judging by the silence or non-reaction. I also noticed a certain lopsidedness in the pairings which, save for the Afgan and Fiza O award presentation segment, were all from Malaysia and Singapore. There were other Indonesian acts seated amongst the audience, I doubt it would hurt to let them have a bit of the limelight as well. On a sidenote, I personally think Fakkah Fuzz just put his name into the hat to present either Pesta Perdana or future editions of APM. Twice he presented awards at both events this year, both times he had the audience in stitches and enjoyed his presentation style.

Maher Zain performed the Malay version of “For The Rest of My Life” right after his acceptance speech…

Winners-wise, I will not debate who was worthy and who was not, but there was one award which had me a little perplexed. In retrospect, I think all the winners and nominees are much deserving of their positions, lofty or otherwise. It has to be said that it is lost on many people’s minds, but we cannot take away the landmark achievement made by “Senyum Saja” at #APM2017. For the first time in its 16-year history, a Made-in-Singapore song finally managed to win the Best Regional Song award!!! This win was the fourth for The Lion Story in the space of seven years and their third in a row, cementing their status as prolific and respected songwriters our country has to offer. For the longest time, it has been something that we have come to accept, that the Malaysians and Indonesians are far superior than us. The glass ceiling has finally been broken. I hope this win will inspire more of our local songwriters to come up with more quality music because they definitely have the talent to match up with their regional counterparts. However, the Best Male and Female categories remain elusive till this day and I hope some day one of our acts can finally reach that pinnacle and recognised by the jury from the three countries.

I just realised when I looked at this photo, the last time Dato’ Adi Putra presented awards at APM2011, his partner was also Nity Baizura…

I don’t care what the online brickbats might say till this day or have questioned ever since, if they had not listened to the song or never heard of it before, and there are many of them out there, the ones commenting and criticising for the sake of it. The beauty of awards shows is that you look at the nominees and you try to do your own research by listening to them on YouTube, iTunes, Spotify and what-have-you. The best is not necessarily the most popular. Likewise the most popular might not necessarily be the best. You only see the regional dissenters up in arms when a Singaporean comes on stage to win the regional awards. I observed some sour grapes who are definitely not from these shores, commenting this was a “Shiok Sendiri” show by the organisers when the Best Song category was announced. If it was, I think Singapore would have won more than they had expected to. It has always been that way but the best awards are judged by a panel of jury from the three countries. So it is definitely sweet when you see your own local product be recognised by not only your own, but from others. And for that we can only “Senyum Saja” at the haters.

Isyana Sarasvati showed her prowess at playing the piano prior to getting off and dancing along with her accompanying dancers when she performed “Kau Adalah“…

It was just one big award and suddenly the “My country’s song is better than yours” mentality reared its ugly heads. This village mentality obviously needs to go, but it will never be eradicated fully, not when online and social media is filled with irresponsible and brainless keyboard warriors. People keep on forgetting that this awards show is about forging friendship, extending ties and network amongst people in the entertainment and media industry between the three countries. It is never meant to be a competition per se, but a celebration of the best. Obviously people who were watching and commenting negatively afterwards, paid scant respect to some of the winning speeches calling for unity and ties to be strengthened. Sad to think that in this current day and age, people tend to form opinions and act upon what comes out from their nether regions rather than whatever rationale that is processed in their heads. It is difficult to educate these country bumpkins when they already have this mentality that theirs is better than others.

Another one of my favourite pairings of the night – Afgan and Fiza O, who showed off her multi-functional outfit created by celebrity designer Raffiey Nasir…

I did say I will not debate who was worthy and who was not, but that I was a bit perplexed by the decision to award one of them. It did not take a rocket scientist to predict that Maher Zain would pick up the International Breakthrough Award when his name and photograph appeared on the promotional poster. I can accept the reasons given for him receiving the award when Ms. Zakiah Halim presented the award to him that night. However, I question his current relevance to the entertainment industry of the three countries. Don’t get me wrong, I love the guy, and I love his positive-infused songs, but his last sold-out concert here in Singapore was back in 2011 when his debut album hit killer heights. Since then his songs have seldom been played on our airwaves. Other than “Ramadhan” which is played during the annual fasting month, we do get the odd airing of songs like “For The Rest Of My Life” being played, either in its original version or the one in Malay / Bahasa Indonesia. I might be wrong, but I highly doubt his latter albums have been well received nor promoted extensively here as compared to his debut offering. If I remember correctly, he recently held a concert here last year and the attendance paled in comparison with his first one, which was quite regrettable, given his standing in the eyes of many.

A very proud moment for our local Malay music scene, finally clinching the biggest award at APM after 16 long years…

If he had been the first recipient when this award was introduced three years ago, then probably I would not be dedicating two paragraphs on this matter. Cos I sincerely thought this awards show is specifically to honour those from the three participating countries who have introduced our lingua franca to the rest of the world through their songs. I am not sure how his Malay or Indonesian song versions have made people from the other countries sit up and learn the Nusantara languages, cos I believe he also has different versions of some of his popular hits in other languages as well like Urdu and Turkish amongst others. I had expected someone like Shila Amzah, and to a lesser extent, Anita Sarawak, to be getting this particular award. I foresee this particular award will probably not be able to stand the test of time (I give it five more years), unless more acts from this part of the world spread their wings and fly abroad and create a name for themselves wherever they are. The organisers probably wanted to have a slight difference in handing out the awards this time round, but it does feel a bit odd, and gave the impression that we have forgotten our own people from this part of the world. Take nothing away from Maher Zain. He probably did not ask nor expected to be awarded the accolade. His acceptance speech at least soothed my aching heart for the rest of our Nusantara acts who might have felt slighted as a result. He has always been a very humble person with no airs and you could see and feel for yourself through the message that his words or lyrics bring.

Our zany hosts closing the show by giving props to legend and rock queen, Ella…

In the past I would usually compare which editions were good, which ones were forgettable, which instalments were memorable. I think for this time I will not make any as I observed each single one brought with them different sets of challenges and obstacles, difficulties and hardships of their own, not to mention which ones left indelible impressions on the mind till I can remember to this day. Take for instance, the great number of no-shows from some of the award recipients. I know for one the likes of Anuar Zain, Dayang Nurfaizah and Khai Bahar were invited to perform but they could not make it as each already had their own prior singing commitments in Malaysia and Hong Kong (Khai Bahar). Probably no one seemed to have noticed this particular trivia, but this year the event was held on a Saturday evening, when usually it is held on a Friday evening. I think had the event been held on a Friday evening, we probably could have had those earlier-mentioned names in attendance and probably had more star names to the line-up. For the show itself to be a sell-out event a good two months before the actual date, spoke volumes of its reach and that we can have confidence that not having stellar names can also attract bums to seats. But for how long???

The question remains, how will the awards benefit the winners in getting known by the neighbouring countries??? For example, will winning the Best Song Award open more doors for the likes of Haikal Ali and The Lion Story to venture into unknown territory in Malaysia and Indonesia if they eventually choose to move in that direction??? How much collaboration and acceptance do artistes, songwriters, producers and such stand to gain from the exposure??? For one, they cannot rest on their laurels and to proactively churn out new works and release them, strike while the iron is hot and not sit on their laurels or just expecting our local radio stations to play their music. They also need to invest some time and money to go out and promote their music, to be heard on airwaves abroad. I really hope that our local acts who were nominated or those who have won, will continue the good work that they have, to always strive for perfection, to improve on shortcomings, to be better performers, songwriters, producers and what-have-you. We have seen good nominations from Singapore this year. Where there’s a need to complement one another, do so. Where there’s no need to compete to bring down the other, don’t bother. Your sincerity and passion will eventually reap its rewards, one way or another. This is my parting shot for my #APM2017 entry…

Snapshots of APM2017

We are just a few days away from the actual Pesta Perdana event itself, relatively about 48 hours on the clock. Dunno why it took me this long to post this entry when the media conference event that took place to announce the nominees in the various award categories happened more than a month ago on 21st February 2019. A combination of being busy with several personal commitments, coupled with being lazy and procrastinating contributed somewhat to this very belated entry. I had half the mind to just skip doing it altogether seeing how short of a time I have to post this up with just a couple of days away. I just had to do it as the memory of the media conference itself, or rather its venue where it was held, was probably the best one I had attended in the history of this awards show. For the first time ever, the media conference was held at the beautiful Skai Suites on the 70th floor of Swissotel The Stamford, one of Singapore‘s iconic buildings and once billed as the tallest hotel in the world.