The day that music died - remembering Sudirman

As we celebrate Malaysia Day as a symbol of "freedom and fraternity", it is worth recalling that nearly two decades before the slogan 1Malaysia was coined, one national icon had already been crusading for a nation free from prejudices. The late Sudirman Arshad, showered then with accolades such as "Malaysia's singing ambassador", our "No 1 entertainer" and even our very own Michael Jackson, championed unity up to his very last public concert just before his untimely death in 1992.

"This song is especially for all Malaysians regardless of race and religion, and one of its messages is we must live united as one family, on God's earth, without differentiating race, colour, status or ancestry," Sudirman told his audience on the night of March 9, 1991.He then launched into a Tamil classic complete with a Tamil heroine picked from the audience, to the delight of the huge crowd gathered at the concert venue in Malacca.
He said the concert was special for him as his career was literally made in the historic town when he first won the Bintang RTM contest held at a Chinese school there.

The concert, released on VCD last year, saw a hugely popular Sudirman at the height of his career, constantly coaxing solidarity and acceptance from his audience, who were a typical cross-section of Malaysian society of all ages and races."Tonight, I'd like you all to treat everyone as your family, boleh tak?" he said at one point, asking everyone to shake hands or salam the people around them.

1-Stunning Malaysian

Genuine patriotism was at the heart of Sudirman's final concert, where early on he appeared dressed in a glittering Jalur Gemilang outfit and surrounded by flag bearers.Delivering his trademark Merdeka Day songs, he said, "For every nation in the world, independence represents a rebirth; without independence, who are we?""Independence of our motherland is our heritage, but true independence is self-independence from laziness and backwardness," he warned."Let us make this true independence an attitude that will become our national heritage," said Sudirman as he launched into his famous 'Tegakkan Bendera Kita' and '31 Ogos'.

Sudirman was born on May 25, 1954 in Temerloh, Pahang, and studied law at Universiti Malaya. He made his recording debut in 1977 and has released 15 albums over the next two decades.The flamboyant artiste famously beat regional greats Anita Sarawak, Leslie Cheung and Kuh Ledesma, among others, when he won 'Best Performer' at the Asia Music Awards 1989 at the Royal Albert Hall in London.Feb 22, 1992 was the day that music died for Malaysia, when Sudirman at 37 passed away in Kuala Lumpur.Perhaps that was also the day that a piece of 1Malaysia died.

Source :http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/142766