BY VOON YIH BOON
KUCHING: A total of 47 outstanding artistes will be honoured during the Sarawak Music Artiste Award 2020.
The event will be held on this Nov 4 at Imperial Hotel here.
This was announced by Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah during a media conference on the award at Bangunan Baitul Makmur II on Wednesday (Oct 14).
Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture and Malaysian Art and Culture Activists Association, Kuching (Macpa) will be the organising partners for this auspicious event.
It aims to acknowledge artistes who have contributed to the local music scene since the 1950s.
“This event will be considered as one of the platforms to encourage more potential artistes to produce greater volume of good music in our local industry,” he said.
Abdul Karim revealed the 47 award recipients would include singers, composers, lyricists and music art activists.
The award will be divided into seven categories, namely ‘Anugerah Tokoh Kenyalang Emas’, ‘Anugerah Tokoh Permata Kenyalang’, ‘Anugerah Tokoh Cahaya Kenyalang’, ‘Anugerah Tokoh Mutiara Kenyalang’, ‘Anugerah Bintang Harapan’, ‘Anugerah Bintang Lagenda’, as well as ‘Anugerah Bintang Sepanjang Zaman’.
“The recipients will take home cash, trophies and certificates. The highest award from the Sarawak government will be worth more than RM100,000,” added the minister.
At the media conference, Abdul Karim suggested that the award be organised annually.
He said the Sarawak government and his ministry always appreciated the contributions of the Sarawak music industry.
“We are always ready to assist it through funds, programmes and grants, etc.
“The Sarawak music industry is a cultural treasure that contributes to the growth of the country’s creative industry and socio-economic development. It promotes Bumi Kenyalang (Sarawak) at the national and global levels.
“Since the beginning from the 1950s, the state has produced a few famous artistes including Datuk Sabanun Merikan, Pauline Linang, Datin Senorita Linang, Safar Ghafar, Rahim Saring, and others,” he said.
Also present during the press conference were Tourism, Arts and Culture Assistant Minister Datuk Sebastian Ting and MTAC permanent secretary Hii Chang Kee.
