I ATTENDED THE HISTORIC LAUNCHING OF YAYASAN ARTIS 1MALAYSIA AT PWTC BY THE PRIME MINISTER OF MALAYSIA.
Veteran singer in wheelchair happily greeting president of Yayasan Artis 1Malaysia Datuk Irwan Shah aka DJ Dave
Three Dashing Datuks; Datuk DJ Dave, Dato Yusuf Haslam and Dato M.Nasir
Datuk DJ Dave, Nancie Foo, Dato M.Nasir, Mas Omar and Dato Malek
Miss Malaysia 1978 Nancie Foo with veteran singer Hail Amir
Famous 1970s and 1980s singer Jamal Abdillah who has made a comeback
Still fabulous; famous veteran singer Dato Khatijah Ibrahim and Nancie Foo, top actress and movie producer
Famous singer/composer Dato M.Nasir and famous blogger Kee Hua Chee
Sofia Ibrahim and Nancie Foo
Razz Rozzian of Blacksport and Nancie Foo of Seni2020
Dato Dahlan Zainuddin and wife Datin Effa Rizan
THE OLDIE BUT GOODIE STARS TURNED UP IN FORCE SO IT WAS ALSO A REUNION OF SORTS AS OLD FRIENDS HAD NOT MET FOR YEARS AND THE FESTIVE ATMOSPHERE ADDED TO THE GENERAL MERRIMENT.
YAYASAN ARTIS 1MALAYSIA OR 'YAIM' WHICH AT FIRST GLANCE APPEARS TO BE 'YATIM' OR 'ORPHAN'!
By a weird coincidence, the Minister involved was Rais Yatim the Minister of Information, Communications and Culture! I always think it is so strange to be named Yatim which means 'Orphan' in Malay. Imagine asking the Minister, "Are you 'Yatim' ( or orphan)?" and he would have to reply, "Yes I am Yatim even though I have mother and father and both are still alive." It sounds even weirder in Bahasa Malaysia! "Awak Yatim ke?" and the reply, "Ya, saya Yatim tapi ada ibubapa"!
Anyway Dato Seri Utama Dr Rais Yatim is a born politician as he speaks so well and convincingly and appears genuine which is so rare as quite often I hear politicians go on and on very convincingly and emphatically but they fail to come across as genuine.
Yayasan Artis 1Malaysia is the brainchild of Datuk Irwan Shha Abdullah aka DJ Dave the hearthrob of the 1970s and 1980s. He is not Malay but is Singh and a convert. He represents the 1Malaysia concept as the vast majority of those who attended the launch were Malays and I could count with my fingers the number of Chinese. In fact, I think there were more Indians.
I was with Nancie Foo, the first non-Malay to break into the Malay movie world back in the 1980s. Nancie Foo, Miss Malaysia International 1978 is still slim and sexy with nice boobs and is considered hot chick by my friends in their twenties!
Nancie Foo is an Exco member and very active in the Malay film industry. Datuk DJ Dave is the President of Yayasan Artis 1Malaysia while Dato Mohd Nasir Mohamed is Vice-President.
Of course all the Malay actors, actresses, singers, songwriters, musicians, lyricists and those in the entertainment industry came out in force, all dressed to the nines. Still, this was not an award ceremony and the huge stars like Dato Siti Nurhaliza, Erra Fariza, Ning Baizura, Sheila Majid, Kavita Sidhu and Rozita Che Wan were nowhere to be seen.
Well, wait till they fall on hard times! Then they will come crawling to YA1M! I was hoping to see my idols so I was rather miffed.
Yayasan Artis 1Malaysia does not compete with FINAS which is the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia or Perbadanan Kemajuan Filem Nasional Malaysia which deals actively with moviemaking.
YA1M is the charitable side of the film industry as the Malay movie world is not to be confused with Hollywood where stars getting RM 1 million per film is considered chicken feed reserved for minor stars and starlets! The average western actor gets a few million ringgit per movie! Let us not bother with the likes of Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and Tom Cruise OK?
So when our actors and entertainers fall sick or get hospitalised, they only have their own resources. Most are not financial wizards and could not parlay their thousands into millions so when they get old and decrepit, they tend to be discarded and put out to pasture as obviously their box office draw decrease.
Yayasan Artis 1Malaysia is open to all in the entertainment industry to join and its task is to look after the welfare of ageing and ailing actors and actresses!
Datuk DJ Dave was the first to take to the stage after the arrival of the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor. Datuk Seri Utama Dr Rais Yatim and wife Datin Seri Utama Maznah had arrived earlier.
The Prime Minister sent word he would be late and we should start dinner without him which we did promptly!
Said Datuk DJ Dave, "I thank God for giving me the strength and ability to be involved in this project to help artistes who are old, ill or hospitalised. Most artistes are not involved in politics but in their own way are very influential. The Government has recognised the roles played by artistes and we are very appreciative of the Government initiatives in supporting the creation of Yayasan Artis 1Malaysia."
He also suggested artistes over 60 should receive a monthly stipend of RM 2,000 and there are around 500 of them only. Hmmm, sounds like a good idea but it will cost RM 12 million a year! Can YA1M support this financial assistance for long?
BELOW ARE PHOTOS IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER
Kenji Lim and everyone signing up to be member of Yayasan Artis 1 Malaysia at entrance
Kenji Lim, Phua Chee Kian, Nancie Foo, Maya and Dato Atan
Dato M.Nasir looking cheery
Datin Linda and Sofia Ibrahim
Razz Rozzian
Veteran artiste arriving in wheelchair
Being greeted by president of Yayasan Artis 1Malaysia
Datuk DJ Dave
Lufti Amir and father Hail Amir who used to duet with Uji Rashid another famous singer who was nowhere to be seen that night
Kee Hua Chee really towered over Hail Amir who used to be bigtime singer in the 1970s and 1980s
Mas Omar, Kee Hua Chee and Hail Amir
Guests
The food tray cover was so flowery and pretty and made more so with the dainty flowers
Guests
K.Sathis, Thila and Hamiza
The Dewan of PWTC
Mas Omar and Dato Malek
Datin Zunida and husband Dato Aziz Singah
Lovely couple Datin Zunida and Dato Aziz Singah
Dato Khatijah Ibrahim and Nancie Foo
Jamal Abdillah
Jamal Abdillah
The main VIP Table awaiting the Prime Minister who came an hour and half late and stayed till midnight!
Dato Khatijah Ibrahim and Dato Yusif Haslam
Entertainers outside the Dewan in the lobby
Top guns in the Malaysian film and music industry; Datuk DJ Dave, Dato Yusuf Haslam and Dato M.Nasir
Dato Kathy Ibrahim and Kee Hua Chee
Dato Kathijah Ibrahim and Kee Hua Chee
Helen Velu
Helen Velu
Helen Velu and Adnan Othman
Three terrific divas; Kee Hua Chee, Dato Katy Ibrahim and Nancie Foo
Kee Hua Chee, Dato Khadijah Ibrahim and Nancie Foo
Dato Kathy Ibrahim and Nancie Foo
Dato Kathijah Ibrahim and Helen Velu
Top film director Syed Mohamed Ben Yehya
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