Pesta Raya 2025: Malaysian songwriter Habsah Hassan started her music career in Singapore
A concert featuring songs by Malaysian lyricist Habsah Hassan will be held at the Esplanade Concert Hall. PHOTO: ESPLANADE
SINGAPORE – It is apt that the first concert dedicated to the songs of Malaysian songwriter Habsah Hassan, who has written lyrics to more than 1,000 songs sung by stars such as Siti Nurhaliza, will be held in Singapore.
Held at the Esplanade Concert Hall on May 2, Dari Sudut Hati, Habsah Hassan (From The Heart Of Habsah Hassan) features Malay pop veterans and her frequent collaborators such as Jamal Abdillah, Rahimah Rahim and Salamiah Hassan singing the hits Habsah wrote in the last five decades.
'I'm very moved by the fact there will be a concert of my songs held in Singapore because that was where I started writing,' the 75-year-old tells The Straits Times in a recent Zoom interview from her home in Kuala Lumpur.
The concert, with music from Orkestra Tradisional Malaysia (Traditional Orchestra of Malaysia) – Sounds Of Malaysia, will also feature music acts Sufie Rashid and Rahila Rashun. It is one of the marquee programmes in Pesta Raya 2025 , the annual Malay arts festival by Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay .
Born in Kota Tinggi, Johor, Habsah grew up in Singapore. Her policeman father was stationed here, and her family lived at the old police quarters in Duxton Plain .
The police division had a band that performed at venues such as Victoria Theatre and a unit that produced radio dramas at the old radio station in Caldecott Hill. While her father was not a musician, he oversaw these activities, and a young Habsah, who had developed a love for writing poems and short stories, would often accompany him.
'I had a lot of exposure to music,' she says. 'I would also pick up discarded scripts and learn how to write them.'
While still in school in Singapore, she took on a part-time job writing scripts for Radio Singapura, and established herself as a writer by contributing poems and short stories to local publications.
She later moved back to Malaysia, and worked with broadcasting company Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM). It was there that Habsah met the composers who began offering her lyric writing gigs.
Her first hit was Terkenang (Remembered), the first song she wrote for singer Zulkiflee Ahmad, winner of RTM's annual talent competition Bintang RTM 1975.
She found more success with the winner of the following year's Bintang RTM, the late Malay pop star Sudirman.
Habsah wrote two songs on his 1976 debut EP, including the title track, Teriring Doa (With Prayer). They would eventually form a lasting partnership, with Habsah writing the lyrics to some of his biggest hits, such as Salam Terakhir (Final Greeting, 1986). Sudirman died of pneumonia in 1992.
She went on to write for other big names in the Malay music industry in Malaysia and Singapore such as Anita Sarawak, Alleycats and Fauziah Lat if. Many of the songs written from the 1970s to the 1990s have become staples on Malay radio stations in both countries.
At Anugerah Juara Lagu, the Malaysian music awards show organised by television broadcaster TV3, she was the first femal e t o win in the Best Lyrics category. In 1987, she achieved the feat with Menaruh Harapan (Giving Hope, 1987), sung by Malaysian singer Zaiton Sameon.
Habsah won in the same category the following year for Cukuplah Sekali (Once Is Enough, 1988) by the late Malaysian singer Jay Jay.
She also wrote extensively for other music projects, such as advertising jingles and national campaigns.
She also made an impact in the Malaysian film industry. She produced popular movies such as comedy Ali Setan (1985) and wrote scripts for movies such as Hati Bukan Kristal (1990), which won Best Story at the 1991 Malaysian Film Festival.
'Every work of art must come from the heart,' she says, when asked what makes her songs last. 'Every lyric I write has a story behind it, and it's always about shared experiences that everyone can relate to.'
While many of her hits are love songs, she has an affinity for lyrics that touch on spirituality, such as Menaruh Harapan (Giving Hope). 'A lot of people thought that it was a love song, but it's a motivational song. It's a song about life, how we come into this life alone and we will leave this life alone. Most of all, it is a song about hope, which is a gift from God.'
Book it/Dari Sudut Hati, Habsah Hassan (From The Heart Of Habsah Hassan)
Where: Esplanade Concert Hall, 1 Esplanade Drive
When: May 2, 8pm
Admission: From $24, go to str.sg/KNfM
More on this Topic Pesta Raya 2025: Teater Kami's Salina travels back to 1950s kampung
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