April 2012, Ghaz writes:
"While remembering one of Ed Sullivan Show's episodes in 1964
featuring The Beatles and later on, the British Invasion on American pop music,
it triggered me to write on the similar phenomenon here in the Malay
archipelago.
As observed, Indonesia, Malaysia and the 14% Malay
population of Singapore share similarities in terms of language and cultural
background. Some of the main ethnics in Indonesia like the Javanese,
Minagkabaus, Mandailings, Achenese, Banjarese, Boyanese, Kamparese and Bataks
could be found in many parts of its neighbouring countries.
Many of the Malay entertainers in music and films those
days originated from Indonesian territories; only a small number of them were
purely Malayan (States of Malay Peninsular excluding Sabah and Sarawak) and
Singaporeans. Even the legendary P. Ramlee himself , although born in Malaysian
island of Penang, is a son of an Achenese aristocratic family who migrated
to the island in 1920s. Other recording artists and songwriters since the
1930s till the early 1960s came from Indonesia in search of better opportunities
in Singapore, the then leading hub of recording industry in the Southeast Asian
region. The same applies to actors and actresses, who eventually carved their
own stardom in two giant studios - Shaw Brothers' Malay Film Production and
Cathay Keris.
Those Indonesian singers who made it to the top in 1940s
and 1950s include Momo Latif, Rubiah, Tarminah, Ta'seah, Ribut Rawit, M. Yatim
a.k.a. Maroeti, Ahmad C.B. (C.B. = Chass Bara) - as well as their
accompanying composers like Ahmad Jaafar, Zubir Said, Yusoff B. (B = Blugok),
Saiful Bahri and Wandly Yazit. Meanwhile, actors and actresses like Daeng
Harris, Daeng Idris, Mustarjo, Aziz Sattar, Noormadiah, S. Kadarisman, Osman
Gumanti, Siti Tanjong Perak and Maria Menado were among those who were
admitted into the studios soon after the demise of stage operas (or
Bangsawan as the Malays call it) at the end of World War II.
Together with their local colleagues from Malaya and
Singapore, they formed a very established and comprehensive entertainment
industry, with their songs and films being made popular in the these
territories, thanks to the loose immigration control of post-independence
Indonesian Government led by President Soekarno and the British colonial
masters in Malaya and Singapore.
Nevertheless, the joy in entertainment was later disrupted
by political difference between Sukarno's administration and the
post-independence Malayan Government led by Tunku Abdul Rahman, in particular,
on the proposed establishment of a new country called Malaysia (which Singapore
was also admitted, together with Sabah and Sarawak which were neighbours to
Indonesia's Kalimantan region on the same Borneo Island), and partly, on
the move by Indonesia to protect its own entertainment industry.
At that time, a strict regulation on film
distribution was enacted in which for each Malayan/Singaporean film entered
into Indonesia per year, it must be reciprocated by at least three Indonesian
films to be distributed to Malaya/Singapore. An effort was made to adapt to
such ruling by producing films through joint-ventures among film-makers in
both countries but still, only two films were known to be done - Korban
Fitnah (1959) and Bayangan Di-Waktu Fajar (1963). Eventually,
Malayan/Singaporean films were totally banned from being distributed to
Indonesia, thus making it hard for the Malay film industry in Singapore to
survive.
Meanwhile, through the Crush Malaysia campaign, many of
the Indonesian songs with anti-Malaysian sentiment were composed and
recorded, thus leading to a further rift between both the governments and
people of the two countries.
The moment of anguish was cleared at last with the
declaration of an end to the confrontation in 1966 between Malaysia (this time,
without Singapore who became a republic of its own a year earlier) and
Indonesia, from which the co-operation between Malaysian/Singaporean and
Indonesian entertainment industry players were resumed. Beginning 1966 onwards,
Malay music listeners began to enjoy once again the the product of joint collaboration
of composers, songwriters and singers from the three countries, which still
previals up to the present day.
PART 2
Between 1966
and mid-1970s, lots of Indonesian musicians, composers, songwriters, singers
and film stars played their parts towards the popularity of Malay songs. They
met in Singapore and later on in Kuala Lumpur to record Malay songs and to act
in Malay films.
In 1966,
Alina Rahman made an EP with Indonesian band The Rollies providing the musical
back-up. All the songs from this EP were composed by the band's drummer, Iwan
Krishnawan. A year later, M. Osman and another Indonesian singer/actor Rima
Melati cut an EP together where they sang a few songs in duet. Ernie Djohan
made two EPs with a Malaysian band called The Bees 5 in 1968 under a Malaysian
recording company called Penerbitan PMT.
Meanwhile,
Malay music lovers in Malaysia and Singapore began to appreciate more
Indonesian artist, such as Lilis Suryani, Tetty Kadi, Alfian and Tiar Ramon in
their collection of EPs at home.
In 1970,
another band called Clique Fantastique made their first EP under EMI Singapore,
besides accompanying other singers under the same label such as Sanisah Huri,
Sarena Hashim and M. Fadzil. The band recorded their fourth and the last EP in
1972, before returning to their homeland to continue with their career there.
Meanwhile, another Indonesian band, The Commandos, also created their own
success in Singapore under Panda Records, making their own instrumental albums
besides accompanying A. Ramlie, Maria Bachok, Ahmad Din, D. Swatinah, J.
Kamisah and Salim I.
The
joint-venture between Indonesian and Malaysian/Singaporean artistic players
were also active during this period. In 1971, the Indonesian film "Dunia
Belum Kiamat" (It's Not The End Of The World) became a hit in Malaysia and
Singapore, thus making the songs from the soundtrack recorded by husband-and-wife
duo Muchsin and Titiek Sandhora very popular in both countries. Two years
later, another box-office film from Indonesia, "Akhir Sebuah Impian"
(The End Of A Dream) (1973) featuring singers Broery Marantika and Emilia
Contessa, became another success, from which Panda Records management in
Singapore were inspired to issue a drama LP with songs and dialogues called
"Menangis Sesudah Ketawa" (Cry After Laughter) in the same year.
During this
period too, many Indonesian bands began their invasion into the Malaysian/Singaporean
music scene, such as Favourite Group (whom were featured in Akhir Sebuah
Impian), D'Lloyd, Koes Plus and Bimbo. Their albums, distributed by Life
Records of both Malaysian and Singaporean branches, became best sellers in both
countries.
In 1975, the
Malaysian branch of Shaw Brothers who took over KL-based Studio Merdeka 11
years earlier tried their luck following such success to produce a
joint-venture film with an Indonesian film company called "Semalam Di
Malaysia" (A Night In Malaysia) featuring Norzie Nani and an Indonesian
singing trio, Bimbo. The song bearing the same title became an instant hit till
it was re-recorded by singers from both countries till the present day.
Another
remarkable performance was in 1976 where a Sabahan millionaire, Deddy M. Borhan
under his own company, Sabah Film Production, made a film which made it to the
top in box-office as well as in the music industry. "Hapuslah
Airmatamu" (Wipe Away Your Tears), which starred Broery Marantika and Christine
Hakim from Indonesia and Sharifah Aini and Latiff Ibrahim, had made a huge
impact in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. The soundtrack featuring songs
sung by Broery and Sharifah Aini, all of which composed by Datuk Ahmad Nawab
are still available till today, and was re-issued by EMI following the death of
Broery himself in 2001, which again became a best-selling album.
The last two
Malaysian film with Indonesian artists being featured during that decade were
"Panglima Badul" (Badul The Warrior) (featuring comedian Benjamin S.)
and "Pendekar" (The Warrior) (featuring Farouk Affero), but then the
popularity of such approach began to fade.
During my
childhood days where the revival of the pop-yeh-yeh craze in the mid-1980s,
there was a live concert at KL's Stadium Merdeka combining many singers of the
60s from Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia to perform. The man behind such
effort was our Malaysian Fenderman, the late M. Shariff with his band, The
Zurah II.
The Malaysian entertainment industry tried very hard to enter
the Indonesian market in the early 1980s, but only few players had managed to
do so, as the latter's entertainment industry itself became very protective on
its own players. Anita Sarawak began to cut a few album specially for the
Indonesian market, so did her peers like Datuk Shiela Majid and later on, Datuk
Siti Nurhaliza.
Still, the
impact was not that strong until the new millenium, when the industry players
from both sides began to appreciate each other's audience on the needs to enjoy
some difference in creativity.
Throughout
my observation, the Indonesian counterpart is more aggressive in making its
industry players remain marketable in Singapore and Malaysia, as the
end-product from there is regarded as the one made for the love for their
country, compared to those in Malaysia who treat theirs as their own individual
efforts, and to serve their individual needs, in the midst of stiff competition
within the local market itself. Had they been united, they could be more
succesful than what they had achieved today.
Ghaz, KL"
