Sunday, May 11, 2008

When Uniquely Welcomes Truly Asia

We've heard or read how some say that Malaysians find Singaporeans kiasu (scared to loose). We've also heard on how Singaporeans find that Malaysians are jealous of them.

Uniquely Singapore Welcoming Malaysia, Truly, Asia
Now, put all those behind... for this time round, these two unique nations are shaking hands. In fact more than that, the Singaporeans are welcoming the Malaysians with wide open arms for 3 days & 2 nights!

Aptly titled Titian Budaya (Bridging Cultures), the Malaysians are here in the island city to share their culture, heritage and arts to a Singapore audience.

A Bagful Of Goodies - FREE!
Amongst the many things, there is the visual art exhibition displaying the works of S. Amin Shahab. Then there is also the Malaysia Film Week with the best Malaysian blockbusters being screened - all free!

This was really a good opportunity to catch these big Malaysian blockbusters! There are 9 of them including film like Duyung, 1957: Hati Malaya and Congkak! Now, that is one bagful of goodies! Apparently, I heard that the tickets were all snapped up when the counters were open on 8 May!

Night To Remember
Too bad I have to give that a miss due to work. But, I took the time off yesterday to witness and be part of very special event also organised by them - the Titian Budaya Gala Night. Hey, how could I miss the first of its kind for Malaysia-Singapore!

esplanade entrance
Crowd at entrance - see all the batiks!


batik malaysia
We were greeted by batiks


Now, what made this event special was that it was held at the Main Auditorium in non other than Singapore's durian, the Esplanade. And like what Datuk Mahadzir Lokman, the emcee, mentioned, "Mana ada tiket percuma di Esplanade?" (Where got free ticket in Esplanade?). Of course, that was a good drawing point... who wouldn't want a free performance - if it's a good one of course!

negaraku esplanade malaysia flag
The Malaysia flag when the Negaraku was played


But that's not the highlight. The main highlight is that the Malaysian contingent actually brought amongst the best singers (current) from Malaysia. They may not be the biggest stars (no Datuk Siti or for that matter Siti Malaysia... or Michael Wong etc), but they did bring in some stars alright.

Reality TV Come Reality
There was winner for One In A Million, Suki who sang a Mandarin song. This was good as the Malaysians actually showcased all 3 major races and even the ethnic groups from Sabah & Sarawak (there were the ethnic dances too).

And of course, there was crowd puller, Jaclyn Victor, winner of Malaysian Idol who sang her hit Gemilang (Glory). Interestingly, she sang this song accompanied by the Malaysian Traditional Orchestra - that means with traditional music instruments and Western instruments. It had a very unique feel - still powerful but a lil mellower. I like it because it shows how modernisation can be accompanied with our heritage.

Jaclyn didn't stop there. Her rendition of Leona Lewis' Bleeding Love was very impressive too! Obviously, Jac has the voice-lah!

artists esplanade titian budaya
Can you see Jaclyn Victor here? :)


But not to be outdone was AIM 1997 winner, model-singer Camelia. I'm a fan of her as well as I think she too has a good voice. She was put to test when she sang Greatest Love Of All. There was a Malaysian feel (her voice) which in a way made it unique though some may prefer the clearer version of Whitney's.

Maiya Rahman & Andrew Lum (New Asia) made the team from Singapore. And just like the Malaysian Traditonal Orchestra, New Asia had a very good blend of East meets West.

*Just on a sidetrack, how many Malaysian singers can say they took centrestage in Singapore's Esplanade? Now Jac, Camelia, Suki & gang can add that to their resume!

Enemies No More
The rendition of Ibukota Permai (KL) & Singapura Singapura made the final goodbye leaving a very happy & jovial atmosphere. It did show that these two countries can be happy neighbours... now who says that these 2 countries can't be friends? :)

malaysia flag singaore flag
Malaysia & Singapore's Flags - side by side


*On a sidetrack, I'm proud to see the talented Malaysians - this just reaffirms that Malaysians got talent!
*Datuk Mahadzir Lokman & Jaclyn Victor are in the 50+1 Malaysians.

6 comments:

  1. hey, i jus clicked on yr 50+1 video . wow.... great stuff..good luck with the sales

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  2. you mean, s'poreans and msians were enemies all this while before this?
    Wow....I thought we were friends

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  3. hi beng beng

    thank you for your encouragement :)

    3point8
    i think most of us think we are friends.. but seeing some comments on the blogosphere, not everyone seem to think like us :(

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  4. Quachee...excellent blog, especially the Titian Budaya event.

    The Batik Inspiration was a good read and the photos very inspiring.

    Congrats...awaiting the release of the 50+1 publication...

    Have fun in fascinating singapore...keep in touch!!

    Cheers...DML

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  5. hi DML

    thanks for gracing my blog! wow, what an honour :)

    and for you to appreciate (& like) the batik book :)

    will let u know when 50+1 Malaysia is out :)

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  6. hi QuaChee,

    i'm so pleasantly surprised that i can search your bloge in google by titian budaya malaysia - singapore.

    atcually, i am one of the performer.i representative of chinese music, i'm erhu player.

    be frank, i very miss the time at singapor as i'm first time visit singapore.

    for the show case, that is one program i like it much --- bleeding by Jaclyn Victor...

    i cant imagine that malaysia traditional instrument can play this songs nicely.

    haha, mean?

    Malaysia Boleah!

    u also see those performance picture in my friendster at:
    http://profiles.friendster.com/popi84

    ReplyDelete

Oh hey, thank you for commenting! :)