KUCHING: It was a spellbinding night for 47 state renowned artistes at the Anugerah Seniman Sarawak (Sarawak Artistes Award) 2020 ceremony held at Imperial Hotel here Wednesday evening.
Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah was given the honour to officiate at the event. Recipients were awarded in seven categories that included ‘Anugerah Tokoh Kenyalang Emas’, ‘Anugerah Tokoh Permata Kenyalang’, ‘Anugerah Tokoh Cahaya Kenyalang’, ‘Anugerah Tokoh Mutiara Kenyalang’, ‘Anugerah Bintang Harapan’, ‘Anugerah Bintang Lagenda’, and ‘Anugerah Bintang Sepanjang Zaman’.
Six veteran and evergreen artistes were accorded the highest recognition the ‘Anugerah Tokoh Kenyalang’ or Kenyalang Model Award for their involvement and contribution since the classic era of the 1950s.
Recipients for this award were Datuk Sabarnun Datuk Salleh Merican, Tan Sri Datuk Abang Ahmad Urai Abang Mohideen, Tan Sri Datuk Amar Bujang Mohd Nor, Datuk Wan Othman Hamid, Madzhi Johari and Dr Kamil Salem.
Meanwhile Sofiah Sahi and Azlan Golie, both lyricists from 60s era, received the Anugerah Tokoh Permata Kenyalang award.
Of the seven categories, the Anugerah Bintang Harapan award was accorded to popular young singers, with both of them having carved their names in the national music scene.
They are none other than Dayang Nurfaizah, the One in a Million finalist and Bob Yusuf, our very own Akademi Fantasia megastar finalist.
Altogether there were 47 recipients comprising singers, composers, lyricists and music practitioners sharing the prize money totalling over RM100,000.
Aimed to preserve Sarawak music heritage, the awards event is expected to be held annually or biennially.
The inaugural event was jointly organised by Sarawak Tourism, Art and Culture Ministry (MTAC) together with Malaysia Arts and Cultural Practitioners Association (MACPA) Kuching.
