A reminder from Saidah Rastam….
Nationalism is flapping in the air, this Merdeka month. What about REGIONALISM?
Frens, this Saturday afternoon, 2 pm at Badan Warisan, come listen to 6 presentations, short but unique and thrilling.
Each presenter is a STAR, to my critical eye, and I cannot believe they are all in one programme, in one afternoon – and at no charge. Mad to miss it!
Arief Hamizan, actor and lawyer, looks across to Sumatra, the ancestral homeland of Minangs and Mandailings and of his family. Has time erased possibilities of reconciliation?
Usherita Usheri, a young singer increasingly on TV, has a voice truly of the 1940s and 50s. She’ll sing some songs of that era from her show ‘Semalam Di Malaya’. Might we warble along?
Kentaro Hiroki, an artist whose work was one of the highlights at the Singapore Biennale last year, spent years looking for the story behind the Thai national anthem, and what he found out was unexpected. The result was a powerful exhibition in Bangkok, ‘Sounds of Silence’. He travels from Bangkok to share this fascinating story.
National boundaries are fixed by politicians, but music transcends them. Through trade, transmigration and love affairs Nusantara culture is rich indeed. How so? Khir Johari, an incredibly knowledgeable Singaporean collector, researcher and cultural maven, will show us!
And Thean See Xien, a lawyer who has memorised and performed 113 national anthems, will regale us with a few of them, including the anthems of Indonesia and Philippines, with insights from the wonderful and respected historian Dr Felice Noelle Rodriguez. And with any luck, we’ll leave having learned a couple!
These 20 minute short but oh-so-intense talks are presented by the Malaysian Heritage and History Club,with love. Rather special…!
Leave a Comment