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NST Online: StreetsJohor

Posted: 12 Jul 2011 11:06 AM PDT

POETRY MEETS MUSIC

2011/07/12
By Syed Abdullah Syed Mohamed

Thirty-four troupes vie for honours at the seventh Johor Ghazal Open competition

FOR three consecutive days, 1,000 eager fans daily filled the Dewan Orang Ramai in Parit Raja, Batu Pahat to watch the seventh Johor Ghazal Open competition.

Organised by the Johor Heritage Foundation, the event had 34 ghazal groups competing in the primary, secondary, open and harapan (aspiration) categories on the first and second day.

Four groups were selected from each category to take part in the finals on the third day.

Fans came from Johor, Negri Sembilan, Kuala Lumpur and as far as Kelantan to watch and listen.

The "modern" ghazal ensemble, as popularised by the late Col Musa Yusof, better known as Pak Lomak, consists of seven unplugged instruments -- the gambus (lute), guitar, violin, harmonium, tabla, tambourine and maracas.

A male and a female vocalist make it nine in the ensemble.

"This year's competition is challenging and interesting as the musicians, particularly the younger set, have introduced dynamics, off-beat rhythms and vibratos to their arrangements," said Johor Heritage Foundation deputy music director Omar Taib, who is also one of the competition's five judges.

He praised the singers whom he said were soothing to the ear as well as articulate

"Some of them could hit and hold the high notes with full expression. That really impressed the judges.

"Some could sing in a melismatic sequence for almost half-a-minute, which wowed the audience," said Omar, who is a musician, composer and arranger.

Melisma is the expressive technique of singing several notes to one syllable.

Three "Trofi Pusingan Keluarga Pak Lomak" (Pak Lomak Family Challenge Trophy) were reserved for the best in song.

Two would go to the best female and male vocalists, and the third to best ghazal song composition.

Only those in the open category are eligible to compete for the last trophy. They are each required to present an original song composition, an original instrumental composition and one selected song.

Contestants in the other three categories are required to perform only two songs of their choice.

The foundation's own Ghazal Melayu Unit Pengembangan YWJ combined electronic instruments such as electric guitars, synthesisers and drums with the traditional instruments of the ghazal.

The group, led by Mohd Shah Othman, performed contemporary and traditional ghazal numbers to an excited audience awaiting the final results.

The group also played instrumental numbers and backed-up the young dancers from Sanggar Pengembangan Warisan Johor.

"It was a show well worth watching," said Mohd Sofi Hashim, a ghazal enthusiast from Senggarang, near Batu Pahat.

"It was unique and extraordinary as there was a mix of modern and traditional showmanship from contestants," said the 47-year-old kompang maker.

The primary school category award went to the SK Mohd Khir Johari group from Johor Baru.

They received the Mokhtar Zamzam Challenge Trophy and RM2,000.

The Kluang High School group came up tops in the secondary school category to win the Ahmad Jusoh Challenge Trophy and RM3,000.

Akademi Seni Budaya dan Warisan Kebangsaan (Aswara) students beat three other contenders in the harapan category to return to Kuala Lumpur with the S.A. Aisyah Trophy and RM4,000.

The group's male soloist Mohd Edie Nazrin, who sang Tasik Embun, was named the competition's best male vocalist.

The Seri Putera ghazal group from Kluang were the winners in the open category. They took the coveted Pak Lomak Family Challenge Trophy and RM5,000.

1Malaysia, composed by the group and penned by Zainal Abidin Zainir, was the best ghazal song composition.

The best female vocalist award went to Norsiah Md Amin from Ledang.

State Rural and Regional Develoment, Arts, Culture and Heritage committee chairma Asiah Md Ariff gave away the prizes on the final day of the competition.

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Waiting to beat procrastination

Posted: 12 Jul 2011 09:30 AM PDT

2011/07/12
by Ahmad Fairuz Othman

The elderly should be appreciated before they are no longer with us. — Picture by Zulkarnain Ahmad Tajuddin

IN life, many things happen for a reason, either to signal a change in the course of our habits or to wake us from complacency. Some people believe it is fate.

Essentially, life never turns out the way we plan it. I have encountered many instances which are reality checks.

A recent one was when I misplaced my road tax. I had obtained it well over a month ago and had intended to immediately stick it with the road tax on my car's windscreen. Procrastination and the inability to control certain aspects of my life led to my delaying this simple act.

It began when I renewed my Perodua Kelisa's road tax a month in advance. I had read the expiration date of my road tax wrongly. Instead of July 4, I read June 4.

No matter, I thought, I had done the necessary. But I made the mistake of not immediately changing the old road tax for the new on my car's windscreen.

At the time, the thought which came to mind was that it was still a long time before July 4.

Although I had wanted to do it right away, there was always something holding me back.

Then I decided to do it at night when I would be free, but decided against it, convincing myself that it would be too dark for me to do the task properly. Now that I think of it, it was a silly excuse.

One day, I grabbed hold of my new road tax and placed it in my car. It stayed in my car, wrapped in its plastic envelope. I happily went about my life, commuting to work from Taman Tasek to Bandar Baru Uda, Johor Baru.

I drove to assignments to Tanjung Langsat, Gelang Patah and Muar without a care about the road tax. I reckoned it was safe, lying in the my car's passenger seat.

Then my worst fear happened -- I misplaced my road tax and it happened in my car, of all places.

I could not help recalling a line from Life as a House, a movie I about an architect who discovers he has cancer and dedicates his last days rekindling his relationship with his son, while they build a house together.

The line from the movie goes like this: "Change can just blow you away, make you something different in an instant. It happened to me".

I do hope I change after misplacing my road tax sticker. It was something waiting to happen, as my car is not the most tidy of places.

Anyone who has ever ridden in my Perodua Kelisa will have noticed the abundant newspapers, shoes, slippers, spare clothes for the gym, CDs and other loose items strewn all over the passenger seats.

At times, my car is almost like my store room. I like to call it my second home, though I have yet to sleep in it.

Imagine having a road tax, which weighs as light as a feather, dumped among heaps of the aforementioned belongings.

Then imagine all these items being removed and replaced every day -- because I like to change into slippers or sports shoes after work.

I often clear out the rubbish every now and then only to replace it the following day with more newspapers, CDs or spare clothes for the gym.

The whole episode of misplacing my road tax climaxed with me rummaging through my car, house and desk at the office. I was like a mad man.

A colleague commented that I should calm down and not worry too much.

"Relax-lah, things tend to disappear when we look for them too hard. Sometimes they appear again when we are not looking.

"Don't worry too much or you will get more grey hair," the colleague said.

Clearly, he was not only concerned about my frantic search for my missing road tax sticker, but also the strands of greying hair increasing on my head.

Some may think my experience is quite small. After all, I did not misplace something very valuable like a piece of jewellery. A road tax is replaceable and it was not a life or death situation.

But it is an example of the bad affects of procrastination. It certainly opened up a lot of other things in my life that have been delayed because of my habit of procrastinating.

My study loan, for instance, is giving me unnecessary worry because of my penchant for dilly-dallying. Although I started repaying it some years ago, I have not settled it fully yet.

I could arrange for monthly deductions from my salary to repay the loan, but I have not filled up the form which I need to inform my employer in Kuala Lumpur to carry out the deductions.

The main reason I procrastinate is related to my comfort zone.

I live with my parents and work in Johor Baru. This provides me with the utmost comfort and convenience when it comes to lodging and food. Other then paying for my car loan, and helping out with some household bills, I do not have much financial responsibilities.

At the back of my mind, I know things could change at any moment. My world would be topsy turvy if, for instance, my elderly parents passed away.

Or if I get into a bad road accident, or become jobless for whatever reason. These possible scenarios would shake up my comfortable routine, and force me to change the way I live my life.

My parents constantly reminding me to perform my daily prayers, and not wait till they are gone.

So the choice is ultimately mine. Do I wait for things to happen before I act, or do I appreciate the people and things I have now before they are gone?

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Kredit: www.nst.com.my

Rabu, 13 Julai 2011