Malay Arts Festival 2007 @ Malay Heritage Centre (MHC)
11 – 19 August 2007
Malay Heritage Centre
Singapore

Discover and Experience the Splendor: A Celebration of Malay Arts

Malay Heritage Centre (MHC) embarks on a cultural journey with its inaugural Malay Arts Festival in celebration of Singapore’s 42nd birthday this August. Discover and experience the splendor of Malay Arts including Bangsawan, Puisi, Dikir Barat, Hadrah, Theatre, Silat, Pantun, Fashion and many more.

Set in the backdrop of the old Istana Kampong Gelam, the Malay Arts Festival promises to enrich and entertain the community with the various Malay Arts form.

This initiative is part of the Centre’s objectives in practicing and preserving the origins and evolution of the community's rich cultural heritage. For the first time, more than 20 Malay Cultural Groups both locals and from the region will be presenting their best performances in one Festival from the 11 to 19th of August.

Highlights of the Festival include the mass assembly by the Dikir Barat and Paluan Ria groups whereby more than 100 performers from the respective groups will be showcasing their talents and battling their wits. Other performing groups involved in this Festival are Perkumpulan Seni that will be premiering their drama-comedy titled “Korporat Ayam” and Sri Anggerik with a Bangsawan performance, “Sang Rajuna Tapa”.

Pesta Puisi Warisan – a poetry recital appreciation will be held featuring celebrated poets from Singapore and Malaysia such as Djamal Tukimin, Zamberi Abdul Fatah and Khalid Salleh, an actor and known poet from Malaysia.

There will also be a special Silat performance slated to showcase this unique form of martial arts. Members of the Seligi Tunggal Kemuning and Kembang Wali formed since the 1950s will be presenting the creative and graceful Silat.

In collaboration with MediaCorp Radio Warna FM94.2 and Radio Television Brunei (RTB), a Pantun Challenge will be held during the Festival. There will also be a traditional song singing competition, Juara Bintang Klasik Nasional 2007 in which the winner will be representing Singapore in a regional competition held in Kuala Lumpur in September.

Mr. Sarkasi Said, batik extraordinaire and cultural icon will be featuring his visual arts works in an exhibition to showcase the best of Sarkasi Said.

Mr. Iskandar Jalil, another cultural icon and living legend, will also be launching his latest pottery programme with the Centre called, “Artistes in Residence” in which the latter will spearhead together with other known pottery artistes including Abu Bakar Abdulla, Dr. Suriani Suratman, Ahmad Abu Bakar, Tan Gek Lin and Tan Xiaohong. Special discounts will be given to visitors who sign up during the launch. There will also be different workshops conducted by the artistes. 

Together with Karezzma Engku N, an event planner and weddings specialist, the Festival will search for the queen of Songket, “Ratu Songket 2007”. More than 10 hopefuls have registered. The pageant which also focus on inner beauty such as gentleness and empathy, long associated with the Malay ladies, is currently still open for participation.

Dr. Lee Boon Yang, Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts will be the Guest of Honor for the Gala Opening of the Malay Arts Festival.

Sri Warisan, together with other Malay dance groups such as Sriwana, Kirana Seni, and dancers from Perkumpulan Seni will be collaborating to showcase the colorful and exciting opening event on the 11th August.

They will also be premiering their upcoming production, “Lagenda Radin Mas” – a melodrama performance by their budding young choreographers. According to legend, Radin Mas Ayu was a princess of the Javanese Royal Court. After her mother was murdered, she fled Java for Singapore with her father, the crown prince.

In keeping with the Centre’s objective to create awareness and appreciation among young Malay Singaporeans of their rich heritage, cultural and historical roots, the Festival will highlight the gold medalists’ performances from the Singapore Youth Festival 2007 including Raffles’ Girls School (Angklung/Kulintang), National Junior College (Angklung/Kulintang), Northland Secondary School (Malay Dance), Sembawang Secondary School (Malay Dance) and Yio Chu Kang Secondary School (Malay Dance).

For the Grand Finale, to be witnessed by the Guest of Honor, Dr. Balaji Sadasivan, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts, MHC will be presenting a special award, “Anugerah Warisan”, to cultural activists, for their contribution to Malay arts and culture. Recipients to the inaugural award include activists from the literary and performing arts.

“Malay Heritage Centre acknowledges the valuable contributions from various cultural groups and individuals in the preservation of our heritage, arts and culture. The awards will be the ultimate recognition”, said Mr. Eddy Noor Hassan, General Manager of Malay Heritage Centre.

“We hope to present the best of Malay artistic traditions, to engage each visitor to a total Malay experience and to inspire the youths to uphold our Malay heritage,” he quoted.

“With this Festival, we also aim to become the point of reference for the Malay community, especially for the younger generation, to identify themselves in the context of multi-racial Singapore,” he added.

The cultural journey with Malay Heritage Centre continues.

Please kindly log onto www.malayheritage.org.sg for more information.

Photography by Eugene Tang/SingaporeSights. All Rights reserved.