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Straits Times
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
Concert review: Malay pop acts gather to celebrate the songs of lyricist Habsah Hassan
The Dari Sudut Hati, Habsah Hassan concert featured Malaysian and Singaporean artistes performing the songs written by Malaysian lyricist Habsah Hassan (centre, in black). PHOTO: ESPLANADE – THEATRES ON THE BAY
Straits Times
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
Pesta Raya 2025: Celebrate the best of Malay arts and culture with Esplanade
Here is a closer look at the main attractions, from a landmark theatre production from Cultural Medallion recipient Atin Amat to a celebration of a pop icon's body of work. PHOTOS: ESPLANADE – THEATRES ON THE BAY Pesta Raya 2025: Celebrate the best of Malay arts and culture with Esplanade SINGAPORE – The Esplanade's Pesta Raya – Malay Festival of Arts has become a fixture of Hari Raya festivities after more than two decades. Its 24th edition, to be held from May 9 to 12, will showcase the best of Malay arts and culture. Besides ticketed shows, there will be free programmes at the arts centre's various spaces. Look out for Pesta Pasar, the biggest outdoor marketplace to date at the festival with more than 35 stalls curated from the region in collaboration with Me-You Market. Here is a closer look at the main attractions, from a landmark theatre production from Cultural Medallion recipient Atin Amat to a celebration of a pop icon's body of work. Teater Kami's Salina travels back to 1950s kampung Ariati Tyeb Papar and Fir Rahman star in Teater Kami's staging of Salina. PHOTO: ESPLANADE – THEATRES ON THE BAY Director and playwright Atin Amat has hung on to the set of the 1950s kampung drama Salina for more than 30 years. The set will be reused in the restaging of her adaptation of the Malay-language novel as part of Pesta Raya 2025 – Malay Festival of Arts from May 2 to 4. Theatregoers who caught Teater Kami's stagings of Salina in 1993 and 1997 will thus recognise bits of Kampung Kambing (or Goat Village in Malay) at the Singtel Waterfront Theatre. The props will include trinkets the Cultural Medallion recipient salvaged from the bygone Sungei Road Thieves Market and a tempayan (stoneware jar) from her old kampung home. In Salina, the story's titular protagonist fights to survive in the aftermath of the Japanese Occupation in Singapore. Forced to become a sex worker while supporting her unemployed lover, Salina lives in a squatter village converted from a goat pen where 'the walls are thin and the roofs are leaky', a setting Atin has tried to recreate faithfully. READ MORE HERE 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 – THEATRES ON THE BAY 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. READ MORE HERE Hafidz Rahman goes beyond comedy with one-man show about Bollywood obsession Singaporean performer Hafidz Rahman plays a Malay man obsessed with all things Bollywood in My Name Is (Not) Khan. PHOTO: ESPLANADE – THEATRES ON THE BAY Singaporean social media personality and performer Hafidz Rahman is best known for skits during which he plays characters such as Bonda Bedah, the middle-aged Malay woman with an acid tongue. For his next live performance, a monologue titled My Name Is (Not) Khan, he will debut a new character – Harith, a Malay man obsessed with all things Bollywood. Despite his reputation for comedy, Hafidz says the audiences should not go into the performance, which is staged in English, and expect a stand-up show. 'It's a very fun show, but it is not a stand-up comedy set,' he tells The Straits Times, adding that the performances explore themes of Bollywood, race, microaggressions, meritocracy and racism. READ MORE HERE Indonesian choreographer Hartati revisits history Dancers will move through paddy hay and interact with it in Indonesian choreographer Hartati's work, Jarum Dalam Jerami. PHOTO: ESPLANADE – THEATRES ON THE BAY The last time Indonesian choreographer Hartati, 59, was in Singapore, it was for the grand opening of the Esplanade in 2002. She was the choreographer for the then-Singapore Dance Theatre's Reminiscing The Moon, which was directed by celebrated Indonesian dancer Boi G. Sakti for the opening festival. 'It was fascinating,' Hartati, who goes by only one name, says of the project. 'I took my three-year-old daughter to stay in Singapore for 1½ months with the team.' READ MORE HERE Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
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 More on this Topic Pesta Raya 2025: Teater Kami's Salina travels back to 1950s kampung Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
