Death toll rises in Indonesia
News, World, Environment «
May 27, 2006
by Pavlos
People in Jogjakarta, Java, are still trying to recover the devastating 6.2 earthquake which devastated the densely populated area.
Last count speaks of at least 3,000 people dead, while an equal number of people are seriously injured or in critical condition. Many injured remain on the streets as hospitals have been damaged, or not safe in case of another earthquake. Countries around the world have offered to assist the government of Indonesia and send in rescue crews and humanitarian aid.
Although the fear of a greater earthquake striking is gradually decreasing, the near by Mount Merapi is causing great concerns. The government of Indonesia had been preparing prior to the earthquake for the possible eruption of the Merapi volcano. Now, it seems it will be very hard to avoid it, as scientists worry the earthquake managed to speed up the volcano. However, with the earthquake wreaking havoc already - Indonesian government may well be too overwhelmed right now. Perhaps unable to handle a concurrent natural disaster. If Merapi erupts, lava and poisonous gas would affect a land area inhabited by about 500,000 people who have already suffered much due to the earthquake.
International aid is on the way, while embassies are trying to locate their nationals. People visiting Jogjakarta who have not yet contacted their national embassy should do so as soon as possible as friends and relatives are actively seeking their whereabouts.
Meanwhile another 6.2 earthquake hit Papua New Guinea earlier today, and a 6.7 hit near the Pacific island of Toga. Both claimed no victims or damages yet as they were away from populated areas or underwater, however they concur to an elevated seismic activity in the Pacific.
I still don’t know of any specific fund-raising effort to support victims in Java, but a safe place to give, is always the International Committee of the Red Cross.
For more information, on the Jogjakarta situation, check out the Mount Merapi blog. Created to report on the Merapi Volcano situation and evacuation, now has earthquake information as well.
Monday, May 29, 2006
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Siri Kotak Kaca Tari: Suara Dari Ruang Tamu
Saya telah mula membuka ruang tamu di Kotak Kaca di Balai Seni Lukis pda 6 Mei, dengan sebuah lukisan Symon, seniman Amerika yang menetap di Bali, sebuah cermin usang yng ditemui di Main Bazaar Kuching hasil tinggalan kolonial British, gunungn wayng Jawa dari Solo yang dibuat dari kertas kotak untuk kanak2, topeng Hanuman dari Phnom Pehn Cambodia, topeng yang dipersembahkan dlm persembahan Ramayananya, yang diperbuat dri paper mashe, sebuah wau pepatung berwarna orange, dua topeng Bali (orang tua) serta topeng separuh yang baru dari Jawa Tengah. Kami telah menonton bedoyo ketawang yang dipersembahkan kepada Sunan (King of Solo) pada hari ulangtahun koronationnya, tari perang lelaki di Jawa Tengah, Jogja, serta Waktu Batu dari Garasi di Jogja serta Bedoyo Silikon (Flesh From the Mountain) oleh Afrizal Malna dan Fitri. diskusi dengan beberapa teman artis underground telah menghasilkan beberapa idea untuk berkolborsi dlm projek yang akan datang.
Pada 15 Mei, saya membawa beberapa rakan penulis serta IT Design untuk melihat ruang yang masih dicipta, dengan menambah bebarapa objek lain termasuk, Skulptur Suparman dari Nino di Jogja, bebola merah yang dibeli di Bangkok sebelum Krismas 2004, sebelum Tsunami melanda, poster Aku Binatang jalam dalam Emas Sepuluh, dan Lalak, bantal2 batik serta selimat swissair bersama bebarapa buku seperti Symon yang ditulis oleh Philip Smith, Performance, Spirited Earth, serta Taman Indera putra oleh Mubin Sheppard. Dalam diskusi kita membincngkan tentang cerita Chini dan Tanah Serendah serta prekuelnya Kota Sang Naga yang masih dalam proses disiapkan ke buku!
Salam Manis dari ruang karya ini
Peruang - Zulkifli Mohamd, phd.(zubin_mohamad@yahoo.com)
Pada 15 Mei, saya membawa beberapa rakan penulis serta IT Design untuk melihat ruang yang masih dicipta, dengan menambah bebarapa objek lain termasuk, Skulptur Suparman dari Nino di Jogja, bebola merah yang dibeli di Bangkok sebelum Krismas 2004, sebelum Tsunami melanda, poster Aku Binatang jalam dalam Emas Sepuluh, dan Lalak, bantal2 batik serta selimat swissair bersama bebarapa buku seperti Symon yang ditulis oleh Philip Smith, Performance, Spirited Earth, serta Taman Indera putra oleh Mubin Sheppard. Dalam diskusi kita membincngkan tentang cerita Chini dan Tanah Serendah serta prekuelnya Kota Sang Naga yang masih dalam proses disiapkan ke buku!
Salam Manis dari ruang karya ini
Peruang - Zulkifli Mohamd, phd.(zubin_mohamad@yahoo.com)
Monday, April 17, 2006
Malaysian Musical: Where Are We Now?
Last year we have watched Puteri Hang Li Po directed by Rosminah Tahir, composition by Pak Ngah at IB and Uda dan Dara directed by Rahim Razali,composition by Yazid dan Yuzaifullah, early this year we have Puteri Gunung Ledang directed by Zahim AlBakri dan Adlin Ramli, music by Dick Lee and Roslan Aziz, M The Opera directed by Jo Kukathas, composition by Saidah Rastam, and recently someone tried to come up with instant musical Suzana@60. What was that actually? Musical or conceptualised variety show? and more to come, Musical P.Ramlee by Adlin Ramli dan Roslan Aziz. Roslan has produced Sheila Majid's Lagenda album dan recently EMI repackaged the album, after witnessing Dayang Nurfaizah released P.Ramlee album. In the past, many people attempted at singing P.Ramlee songs, from Wan to Liza Hanim etc. Hopefully, this musical is not about compilation of P.Ramlee songs, which could be done easily by RTM on their saturday nite show or Down Memory Lane show! What would be good is the life story about P.Ramlee. So where is this crave for Malay musical come from? Istana Budaya started with Keris Sang Puteri, Rubiah, Tun Perak, Tun Fatimah. Oh by the way, IB is staging Lantai T.Pinkie(dont know when this saga is going to end as this is probably the 3rd time the work is staged. But then again, Shakespere's work is being staged over and over again all over the world!) So what say you mate?
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Siapa Berani(Indonesia) vs Siapa Boleh (Malaysia), Helmi Yahya Vs Zainal Alam kadir
Peradah DKI Ikutan Kuis Siapa Berani
Dalam rangka perayaan Hari Raya Nyepi Tahun Baru Caka 1925, Peradah DKI Jakarta bersama beberapa organisasi bernafas Hindu di DKI Jakarta tampil di Indosiar dalam acara Kuis Siapa Berani yang disiarkan langsung pada hari Ngembak Geni, tanggal 3 April 2003, sehari setelah pelaksanaan Catur Berata Penyepian.
Seperti biasa Kuis Siapa Berani diikuti oleh lima group dengan masing-masing group terdiri dari 20 orang. Lima organisasi bernafas Hindu yang tampil terdiri dari Abhiseka dengan pakaian khas India, Majapahid (Manggala Jawa Dwipa Hindu Dharma) dengan pakaian khas Jawa, KPSHD (Keluarga Pemuda Suka-duka Hindu Dharma) Jakarta Barat dengan pakaian khas Bali, KMHDI (Keluarga Mahasiswa Hindu Dharma Indonesia) dengan pakaian khas Dayak, dan Peradah DKI Jakarta dengan pakaian khas Betawi.
Pemakaian busana daerah yang beraneka ragam dimaksudkan untuk lebih memperkenalkan bahwa Hindu bukan hanya Bali, sebagaimana anggapan umat lain selama ini. Yel-yel yang dikumandangkan masing-masing group juga mencerminkan masing-masing daerah, tentu saja dengan dibumbui lelucon dan variasi joke agar lebih menarik.
Sebagaimana akhir dari sebuah permainan, harus ada yang menang dan yang kalah, kuis ini akhirnya dimenangkan oleh KMHDI. Menang dan kalah tidaklah terlalu menjadi masalah. Acara-acara semacam ini sangat efektif dalam mempererat tali persaudaraan di antara rekan-rekan se-Dharma sekaligus memperkenalkan Hindu kepada umat lain.
Source : Sugi
Helmy Yahya
Si Raja Kuis Makin Berani Gaet Ibu RT
Helmy Yahya secara mengejutkan semakin berani dan berhasil menggaet ibu-ibu rumah tangga (RT) dan puteri remajanya. Ia menemui para isteri dan remaja puteri setiap pagi, saat suami pergi kerja. Mereka dibuat terbuai menikmati kebersamaan dalam Kuis Siapa Berani yang ditayangkan Indosiar itu. Si Raja Kuis itu kini memang semakin digemari ibu-ibu dan remaja putri. Juragan hiburan televisi yang lagi laris lewat rumah produksi PT Triwarsana yang didirikannya, itu kini memasok puluhan acara ke berbagai stasiun televisi.
Sebagian besar acara itu berupa kuis. Di antaranya yang paling spektakuler dan membuatnya semakin populer terutama di kalangan ibu dan remaja putri adalah Kuis Siapa Berani. Kuis yang dipandu Helmy bersama Alya Rohali diikuti 100 peserta dan digelar langsung setiap hari dari Senin hingga Jumat, pada pukul 08.00 pagi. Minat publik terhadap kuis itu memang luar biasa. Setiap minggu ada 500 kelompok yang mendaftar.
Tak pelak, kuis itulah yang mengangkat sosok Helmy Yahya sebagai "super star pagi" yang ditunggu pemirsa, terutama ibu-ibu. "Market saya memang ibu-ibu he-he-he.... Tetapi, sebenarnya segmentasi kuis ini memang paling lebar, mulai anak-anak sampai jenderal, hingga ibu-ibu arisan," kata Helmy yang ditemui seusai acara kuis di Indosiar, Jalan Damai, Jakarta.
Akibatnya, wilayah pribadi pria kelahrian Palembang, 6 Maret 1962, dari keluarga dengan ekonomi pas-pasan, ini agak terusik. Ibu-ibu pedagang batik di Pasar Beringharjo, Yogyakarta pun mengenali sosok pria kelahiran Palembang 1963 itu. "Suatu kali saya jalan-jalan ke Yogyakarta. Saya memakai celana pendek dan kacamata gelap. Waktu saya cari batik di Pasar Beringharjo, ada ibu penjual batik yang berteriak, 'Ee... ada siapa berani!' Itu membuat saya terharu."
Di studio, tempat kuis berlangsung, suasana tak jauh beda. Ibu-ibu peserta kuis ramai-ramai meminta foto bersama Helmy. Begitu pula di dalam pesawat terbang, ada seorang pramugari mendekatinya. Rupanya pramugari itu hanya ingin menitipkan dua pertanyaan untuk dibacakan dalam kuis Siapa Berani.
Jagat pertelevisian, terutama kuis, sudah dikenal Helmy sejak ia bekerja pada Ani Soemadi yang dikenal sebagai "Ratu Kuis". Sekitar sepuluh tahun Helmy ikut menggarap belasan kuis televisi. Helmy kemudian bekerja mandiri dengan mendirikan perusahaan PT Triwarsana yang kini mempunyai tenaga inti 40 orang. Kuis dan acara televisi yang pernah digarap Helmy antara lain Kata Demi Kata atau Pesta Bintang di SCTV. Kini ia sedang menyiapkan tujuh paket acara hiburan televisi.
Kiatnya menggarap kuis sebagai tontonan visual yang menarik antara lain pertanyaan tidak boleh sulit, tetapi harus menarik dan merupakan fakta menarik. "Misalnya, saya baru tahu buah kiwi bukan dari Selandia Baru, tetapi dari Cina. Atau, harimau itu ternyata tidak terdapat di Afrika. Dari situ kita juga berbagi pengetahuan kepada pemirsa," kata Helmy yang berstatus dosen Sekolah Tinggi Akuntansi Negara (STAN) di Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta Selatan.
Sosok Helmy Yahya kini menjadi bagian dari jagat gebyar hiburan di layar kaca: sebuah dunia yang tak pernah diimpikannya. Ayahnya, Mohammad Yahya Matusin, adalah wiraswasta. "Saya dari keluarga bersahaja, bahkan boleh dibilang memprihatinkan. Ayah hanya pedagang kaki lima, penjual kacamata," kata Helmy yang bungsu dari lima bersaudara.
Meski kondisi ekonomi pas-pasan, orangtua Helmy berusaha menyekolahkan anak-anaknya. Bahkan, dua anak terakhir, Tantowi dan Helmy diupayakan bersekolah di Jawa. "Untuk modal kuliah kami di Jakarta, Ayah sampai menggadaikan rumah. Saya sempat merasa menjadi anak durhaka karena dulu saya marah kalau wesel belum datang. Padahal, orangtua saya harus pinjam sana sini untuk biaya hidup kami," kenang Helmy yang merampungkan kuliah di STAN dan melanjutkan program pascasarjana di Universitas Miami, Amerika Serikat.
Saat kuliah di Jakarta itulah jalan menuju bisnis hiburan televisi terbuka. Suatu ketika Helmy menyelenggarakan hajatan jazz di kampus yang menampilkan pemusik Ireng Maulana. Setelah cukup sering bekerja sama, pada tahun 1988 Helmy ditawari menjadi manajer Ireng Maulana. Dari gitaris yang menggarap musik untuk kuis Berpacu Dalam Melodi tersebut, Helmy berkenalan dengan Ani Soemadi. Sejak itu, jalan menuju jagat bisnis hiburan terbuka buat Helmy. "Tetapi, sungguh saya tidak kebayang bekerja di dunia hiburan. Cita-cita saya itu menjadi dokter atau penulis. Saya ini sebenarnya kan kecebur di dunia hiburan," kata Helmy yang di kampungnya di kawasan Bekasi Timur, menjabat sebagai Ketua RT.
Minat dan aktivitas Helmy memang sangat beragam. Ia menyukai olahraga terutama bola basket. Ia juga menggemari musik. Kini, ia sedang menyiapkan rekaman album Melayu Deli bersama pemusik Marakarma. Menurutnya, ini bukan usaha "mumpung populer". Musik Melayu Deli telah menjadi bagian dari masa kecilnya di Palembang. "Ayah saya penyanyi dan pernah memimpin orkes musik sejenis gambus."
Ia juga sempat mewujudkan impian sebagai penulis. Setidaknya, Helmy yang kala SMA menggemari novel Ashadi Siregar dan Eddy D Iskandar pernah menghasilkan lima novel, salah satunya berjudul Blok M (Bakal Lokasi Mejeng) yang pernah difilmkan sutradara Edward Pesta Sirait dan dibintangi Desy Ratnasari dan Paramita Rusadi.
Kini, Helmy akan mengarungi bisnis hiburan yang lebih besar. Sudah sekitar tiga bulan ia menjabat Direktur Pemasaran Perum Produksi Film Negara (PPFN). Perusahaan yang sepuluh tahun terakhir mandek produksinya itu disebutnya sebagai "Titanic", kapal besar yang nyaris tenggelam. Aset lahan seluas dua hektar di Jalan Otista Raya, Jakarta Timur, dan 1,5 hektar di Jalan Tendean, Jakarta Selatan, milik PPFN itu akan dikembangkan sebagai studio besar.
Mereka tengah menyiapkan untuk menghidupkan kembali film boneka Si Unyil. "Saya ingin anak-anak mempunyai tontonan dengan nilai Indonesia. Saya prihatin, anak-anak kita menjadi generasi smack down." Yang terakhir itu adalah acara hiburan "gulat" banting-membanting di sebuah stasiun televisi swasta dan diikuti banyak anak-anak.
Selain aktif sebagai presenter, Helmy juga menulis cerita yang dituangkannya dalam beberapa pustaka antara lain Buku Humor “Gelitik Tawa Cara Amerika” , Pustaka Jeka, 1985; Buku Humor “Tanya Serius Jawab Santai” , Pustaka Jeka 1986; Buku Remaja serial Lintar “Ketika Musim Duren Tiba” , Pustaka Jeka 1986; Buku Remaja serial Lintar “Balada Johny dan Retno” , Pustaka Jeka 1987; Buku Remaja serial Lintar “Cinta Elektrik” , Pustaka Jeka 1987; Buku Remaja serial Lola “Blok M, Bakal Lokasi Mejeng” , Pustaka Jeka 1988; Program PhD in Business (Marketing) pada JIMS , Jakarta, belum selesai; dan Buku Joshua Oh Joshua , Gramedia 2000.
Selain itu, ia juga menuangkan ide-ide dari cerita tersebut ke dalam film yakni: Ide cerita film “Ketika Musim Duren Tiba” , PT. Virgo Film, 1988; Ide cerita dan scenario film “Blok M” , PT. Parkit Film, 1989; Ide cerita film “Joshua Oh Joshua” , PT. RAPI Film, 2000.
Ia juga menjadi pembicara dari beberapa seminar seperti Activity Based Costing (ABC) Seminars, Finance Or Non-Finance Seminars dan Marketing Service Seminars.
Pria serba sibuk ini, memang sejak kecil sudah merai berbagai prestasi dan penghargaan. Ia lulusan terbaik dari sejak SD sampai perguruan tinggi. Beberapa penghargaan yang diraihnya adalah: Pelajar Teladan SLTA Sumatera Selatan, 1980; Pelajar Teladan Nasional, 1980; Juara Lomba Baca Puisi se-Sumatera, Medan, 1979; Juara Lomba Mengarang Puisi se-Sumatera Selatan, 1980; Juara Cepat Tepat, TVRI Palembang, 1978-1980; dan Juara Lomba Baca Puisi antar Mahasiswa se-Indonesia, Jakarta 1981.
Kini ia menggumuli sejumlah kegiatan yaitu: Direktur PT. Triwarsana; Dosen/Widyaiswara STAN (Accounting Theory, Accounting System, Etika Bisnis dan Marketing); Produser dan Kreator Kuis Joshua (Indosiar, setiap Minggu pk.17.00); Executive Produser dan Kreator ‘Pesta Bintang’ (SCTV, setiap Minggu pk.16.30); Executive Produser dan Kreator ‘ASAL’ (SCTV, setiap Jumat pk.21.00); Executive Produser dan Kreator ‘Kafe Dangdut’ (TPI, setiap Selasa pk.19.30); Tim Pembuat Soal Kuis Digital LG Prima (Indosiar, setiap Sabtu pk.14.00); Executive Produser dan Kreator ‘TERSERAH’ (SCTV, setiap Sabtu pk.21.00); Executive Produser dan Kreator ‘Mimpi Kali Yee’ (SCTV, setiap Kamis pk.19.30); Executive Produser, Kreator, soal dan Host Kuis Siapa Berani (Indosiar, setiap Senin-Jumat pk.08.00); Dosen di STAN; Presenter KOBATAMA (SCTV sejak tahun 1994); Ketua Bidang Luar Negri PB PERBASI, sejak tahun 1998; Deputy Secretary General South East Asian Basketball Association (SEABA) sejak tahun 1999; Humas Ikatan Akuntan Indonesia (IAI) Kompartemen Akuntan Manajemen , sejak tahun 1999; MC di berbagai acara (event); Pembicara/Moderator Seminar dalam bidang Marketing, Accounting, Finance dan Broadcasting; dan Direktur Marketing PFN.
Selain itu, ia juga sibuk sebagai presenter dalam event khusus, seperti:
1. PON 1993 (RCTI), sebagai Presenter
2. Asian Basketball Championship 1993 (SCTV), sebagai komentator
3. NBA final 1995 , Houston (USA), sebagai Host
4. Asian Badminton Championship , Jakarta 1995, Host
5. NBA final 1996 , Chicago (USA), sebagai Host
6. Olimpiade 1996 , Atlanta (USA), sebagai Host
7. SEABA Championship , Surabaya 1996, sebagai Host
8. Exclusive Interview ‘Kareem Abdul Jabbar’ , Jakarta 1995
9. Exclusive Interview ‘Magic Johnson’ , Los Angeles 1996
10. Magic Johnson All Star , SCTV 1996, sebagai Host
11. Lintas Selat Sunda , SCTV 1996, sebagai Host
12. Lintas Selat Madura , SCTV 1996, sebagai Host
13. Batman Triathlon , SCTV 1996, sebagai Host
14. NBA Japan Games , Tokyo 1997 (SCTV), sebagai Host
15. Kejuaraan Dunia Perahu Naga , Hongkong 1997, SCTV, sebagai Host
16. Exclusive Interview ‘Shaquille O’Neal , Jakarta 1997
17. Sea Games 1997 , Jakarta, SCTV, sebagai Host
*** Tokoh Indonesia, dari berbagai sumber.
Ensiklopedi Tokoh Indonesia. All right reserved. Design and Maintenance by Esero
Dalam rangka perayaan Hari Raya Nyepi Tahun Baru Caka 1925, Peradah DKI Jakarta bersama beberapa organisasi bernafas Hindu di DKI Jakarta tampil di Indosiar dalam acara Kuis Siapa Berani yang disiarkan langsung pada hari Ngembak Geni, tanggal 3 April 2003, sehari setelah pelaksanaan Catur Berata Penyepian.
Seperti biasa Kuis Siapa Berani diikuti oleh lima group dengan masing-masing group terdiri dari 20 orang. Lima organisasi bernafas Hindu yang tampil terdiri dari Abhiseka dengan pakaian khas India, Majapahid (Manggala Jawa Dwipa Hindu Dharma) dengan pakaian khas Jawa, KPSHD (Keluarga Pemuda Suka-duka Hindu Dharma) Jakarta Barat dengan pakaian khas Bali, KMHDI (Keluarga Mahasiswa Hindu Dharma Indonesia) dengan pakaian khas Dayak, dan Peradah DKI Jakarta dengan pakaian khas Betawi.
Pemakaian busana daerah yang beraneka ragam dimaksudkan untuk lebih memperkenalkan bahwa Hindu bukan hanya Bali, sebagaimana anggapan umat lain selama ini. Yel-yel yang dikumandangkan masing-masing group juga mencerminkan masing-masing daerah, tentu saja dengan dibumbui lelucon dan variasi joke agar lebih menarik.
Sebagaimana akhir dari sebuah permainan, harus ada yang menang dan yang kalah, kuis ini akhirnya dimenangkan oleh KMHDI. Menang dan kalah tidaklah terlalu menjadi masalah. Acara-acara semacam ini sangat efektif dalam mempererat tali persaudaraan di antara rekan-rekan se-Dharma sekaligus memperkenalkan Hindu kepada umat lain.
Source : Sugi
Helmy Yahya
Si Raja Kuis Makin Berani Gaet Ibu RT
Helmy Yahya secara mengejutkan semakin berani dan berhasil menggaet ibu-ibu rumah tangga (RT) dan puteri remajanya. Ia menemui para isteri dan remaja puteri setiap pagi, saat suami pergi kerja. Mereka dibuat terbuai menikmati kebersamaan dalam Kuis Siapa Berani yang ditayangkan Indosiar itu. Si Raja Kuis itu kini memang semakin digemari ibu-ibu dan remaja putri. Juragan hiburan televisi yang lagi laris lewat rumah produksi PT Triwarsana yang didirikannya, itu kini memasok puluhan acara ke berbagai stasiun televisi.
Sebagian besar acara itu berupa kuis. Di antaranya yang paling spektakuler dan membuatnya semakin populer terutama di kalangan ibu dan remaja putri adalah Kuis Siapa Berani. Kuis yang dipandu Helmy bersama Alya Rohali diikuti 100 peserta dan digelar langsung setiap hari dari Senin hingga Jumat, pada pukul 08.00 pagi. Minat publik terhadap kuis itu memang luar biasa. Setiap minggu ada 500 kelompok yang mendaftar.
Tak pelak, kuis itulah yang mengangkat sosok Helmy Yahya sebagai "super star pagi" yang ditunggu pemirsa, terutama ibu-ibu. "Market saya memang ibu-ibu he-he-he.... Tetapi, sebenarnya segmentasi kuis ini memang paling lebar, mulai anak-anak sampai jenderal, hingga ibu-ibu arisan," kata Helmy yang ditemui seusai acara kuis di Indosiar, Jalan Damai, Jakarta.
Akibatnya, wilayah pribadi pria kelahrian Palembang, 6 Maret 1962, dari keluarga dengan ekonomi pas-pasan, ini agak terusik. Ibu-ibu pedagang batik di Pasar Beringharjo, Yogyakarta pun mengenali sosok pria kelahiran Palembang 1963 itu. "Suatu kali saya jalan-jalan ke Yogyakarta. Saya memakai celana pendek dan kacamata gelap. Waktu saya cari batik di Pasar Beringharjo, ada ibu penjual batik yang berteriak, 'Ee... ada siapa berani!' Itu membuat saya terharu."
Di studio, tempat kuis berlangsung, suasana tak jauh beda. Ibu-ibu peserta kuis ramai-ramai meminta foto bersama Helmy. Begitu pula di dalam pesawat terbang, ada seorang pramugari mendekatinya. Rupanya pramugari itu hanya ingin menitipkan dua pertanyaan untuk dibacakan dalam kuis Siapa Berani.
Jagat pertelevisian, terutama kuis, sudah dikenal Helmy sejak ia bekerja pada Ani Soemadi yang dikenal sebagai "Ratu Kuis". Sekitar sepuluh tahun Helmy ikut menggarap belasan kuis televisi. Helmy kemudian bekerja mandiri dengan mendirikan perusahaan PT Triwarsana yang kini mempunyai tenaga inti 40 orang. Kuis dan acara televisi yang pernah digarap Helmy antara lain Kata Demi Kata atau Pesta Bintang di SCTV. Kini ia sedang menyiapkan tujuh paket acara hiburan televisi.
Kiatnya menggarap kuis sebagai tontonan visual yang menarik antara lain pertanyaan tidak boleh sulit, tetapi harus menarik dan merupakan fakta menarik. "Misalnya, saya baru tahu buah kiwi bukan dari Selandia Baru, tetapi dari Cina. Atau, harimau itu ternyata tidak terdapat di Afrika. Dari situ kita juga berbagi pengetahuan kepada pemirsa," kata Helmy yang berstatus dosen Sekolah Tinggi Akuntansi Negara (STAN) di Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta Selatan.
Sosok Helmy Yahya kini menjadi bagian dari jagat gebyar hiburan di layar kaca: sebuah dunia yang tak pernah diimpikannya. Ayahnya, Mohammad Yahya Matusin, adalah wiraswasta. "Saya dari keluarga bersahaja, bahkan boleh dibilang memprihatinkan. Ayah hanya pedagang kaki lima, penjual kacamata," kata Helmy yang bungsu dari lima bersaudara.
Meski kondisi ekonomi pas-pasan, orangtua Helmy berusaha menyekolahkan anak-anaknya. Bahkan, dua anak terakhir, Tantowi dan Helmy diupayakan bersekolah di Jawa. "Untuk modal kuliah kami di Jakarta, Ayah sampai menggadaikan rumah. Saya sempat merasa menjadi anak durhaka karena dulu saya marah kalau wesel belum datang. Padahal, orangtua saya harus pinjam sana sini untuk biaya hidup kami," kenang Helmy yang merampungkan kuliah di STAN dan melanjutkan program pascasarjana di Universitas Miami, Amerika Serikat.
Saat kuliah di Jakarta itulah jalan menuju bisnis hiburan televisi terbuka. Suatu ketika Helmy menyelenggarakan hajatan jazz di kampus yang menampilkan pemusik Ireng Maulana. Setelah cukup sering bekerja sama, pada tahun 1988 Helmy ditawari menjadi manajer Ireng Maulana. Dari gitaris yang menggarap musik untuk kuis Berpacu Dalam Melodi tersebut, Helmy berkenalan dengan Ani Soemadi. Sejak itu, jalan menuju jagat bisnis hiburan terbuka buat Helmy. "Tetapi, sungguh saya tidak kebayang bekerja di dunia hiburan. Cita-cita saya itu menjadi dokter atau penulis. Saya ini sebenarnya kan kecebur di dunia hiburan," kata Helmy yang di kampungnya di kawasan Bekasi Timur, menjabat sebagai Ketua RT.
Minat dan aktivitas Helmy memang sangat beragam. Ia menyukai olahraga terutama bola basket. Ia juga menggemari musik. Kini, ia sedang menyiapkan rekaman album Melayu Deli bersama pemusik Marakarma. Menurutnya, ini bukan usaha "mumpung populer". Musik Melayu Deli telah menjadi bagian dari masa kecilnya di Palembang. "Ayah saya penyanyi dan pernah memimpin orkes musik sejenis gambus."
Ia juga sempat mewujudkan impian sebagai penulis. Setidaknya, Helmy yang kala SMA menggemari novel Ashadi Siregar dan Eddy D Iskandar pernah menghasilkan lima novel, salah satunya berjudul Blok M (Bakal Lokasi Mejeng) yang pernah difilmkan sutradara Edward Pesta Sirait dan dibintangi Desy Ratnasari dan Paramita Rusadi.
Kini, Helmy akan mengarungi bisnis hiburan yang lebih besar. Sudah sekitar tiga bulan ia menjabat Direktur Pemasaran Perum Produksi Film Negara (PPFN). Perusahaan yang sepuluh tahun terakhir mandek produksinya itu disebutnya sebagai "Titanic", kapal besar yang nyaris tenggelam. Aset lahan seluas dua hektar di Jalan Otista Raya, Jakarta Timur, dan 1,5 hektar di Jalan Tendean, Jakarta Selatan, milik PPFN itu akan dikembangkan sebagai studio besar.
Mereka tengah menyiapkan untuk menghidupkan kembali film boneka Si Unyil. "Saya ingin anak-anak mempunyai tontonan dengan nilai Indonesia. Saya prihatin, anak-anak kita menjadi generasi smack down." Yang terakhir itu adalah acara hiburan "gulat" banting-membanting di sebuah stasiun televisi swasta dan diikuti banyak anak-anak.
Selain aktif sebagai presenter, Helmy juga menulis cerita yang dituangkannya dalam beberapa pustaka antara lain Buku Humor “Gelitik Tawa Cara Amerika” , Pustaka Jeka, 1985; Buku Humor “Tanya Serius Jawab Santai” , Pustaka Jeka 1986; Buku Remaja serial Lintar “Ketika Musim Duren Tiba” , Pustaka Jeka 1986; Buku Remaja serial Lintar “Balada Johny dan Retno” , Pustaka Jeka 1987; Buku Remaja serial Lintar “Cinta Elektrik” , Pustaka Jeka 1987; Buku Remaja serial Lola “Blok M, Bakal Lokasi Mejeng” , Pustaka Jeka 1988; Program PhD in Business (Marketing) pada JIMS , Jakarta, belum selesai; dan Buku Joshua Oh Joshua , Gramedia 2000.
Selain itu, ia juga menuangkan ide-ide dari cerita tersebut ke dalam film yakni: Ide cerita film “Ketika Musim Duren Tiba” , PT. Virgo Film, 1988; Ide cerita dan scenario film “Blok M” , PT. Parkit Film, 1989; Ide cerita film “Joshua Oh Joshua” , PT. RAPI Film, 2000.
Ia juga menjadi pembicara dari beberapa seminar seperti Activity Based Costing (ABC) Seminars, Finance Or Non-Finance Seminars dan Marketing Service Seminars.
Pria serba sibuk ini, memang sejak kecil sudah merai berbagai prestasi dan penghargaan. Ia lulusan terbaik dari sejak SD sampai perguruan tinggi. Beberapa penghargaan yang diraihnya adalah: Pelajar Teladan SLTA Sumatera Selatan, 1980; Pelajar Teladan Nasional, 1980; Juara Lomba Baca Puisi se-Sumatera, Medan, 1979; Juara Lomba Mengarang Puisi se-Sumatera Selatan, 1980; Juara Cepat Tepat, TVRI Palembang, 1978-1980; dan Juara Lomba Baca Puisi antar Mahasiswa se-Indonesia, Jakarta 1981.
Kini ia menggumuli sejumlah kegiatan yaitu: Direktur PT. Triwarsana; Dosen/Widyaiswara STAN (Accounting Theory, Accounting System, Etika Bisnis dan Marketing); Produser dan Kreator Kuis Joshua (Indosiar, setiap Minggu pk.17.00); Executive Produser dan Kreator ‘Pesta Bintang’ (SCTV, setiap Minggu pk.16.30); Executive Produser dan Kreator ‘ASAL’ (SCTV, setiap Jumat pk.21.00); Executive Produser dan Kreator ‘Kafe Dangdut’ (TPI, setiap Selasa pk.19.30); Tim Pembuat Soal Kuis Digital LG Prima (Indosiar, setiap Sabtu pk.14.00); Executive Produser dan Kreator ‘TERSERAH’ (SCTV, setiap Sabtu pk.21.00); Executive Produser dan Kreator ‘Mimpi Kali Yee’ (SCTV, setiap Kamis pk.19.30); Executive Produser, Kreator, soal dan Host Kuis Siapa Berani (Indosiar, setiap Senin-Jumat pk.08.00); Dosen di STAN; Presenter KOBATAMA (SCTV sejak tahun 1994); Ketua Bidang Luar Negri PB PERBASI, sejak tahun 1998; Deputy Secretary General South East Asian Basketball Association (SEABA) sejak tahun 1999; Humas Ikatan Akuntan Indonesia (IAI) Kompartemen Akuntan Manajemen , sejak tahun 1999; MC di berbagai acara (event); Pembicara/Moderator Seminar dalam bidang Marketing, Accounting, Finance dan Broadcasting; dan Direktur Marketing PFN.
Selain itu, ia juga sibuk sebagai presenter dalam event khusus, seperti:
1. PON 1993 (RCTI), sebagai Presenter
2. Asian Basketball Championship 1993 (SCTV), sebagai komentator
3. NBA final 1995 , Houston (USA), sebagai Host
4. Asian Badminton Championship , Jakarta 1995, Host
5. NBA final 1996 , Chicago (USA), sebagai Host
6. Olimpiade 1996 , Atlanta (USA), sebagai Host
7. SEABA Championship , Surabaya 1996, sebagai Host
8. Exclusive Interview ‘Kareem Abdul Jabbar’ , Jakarta 1995
9. Exclusive Interview ‘Magic Johnson’ , Los Angeles 1996
10. Magic Johnson All Star , SCTV 1996, sebagai Host
11. Lintas Selat Sunda , SCTV 1996, sebagai Host
12. Lintas Selat Madura , SCTV 1996, sebagai Host
13. Batman Triathlon , SCTV 1996, sebagai Host
14. NBA Japan Games , Tokyo 1997 (SCTV), sebagai Host
15. Kejuaraan Dunia Perahu Naga , Hongkong 1997, SCTV, sebagai Host
16. Exclusive Interview ‘Shaquille O’Neal , Jakarta 1997
17. Sea Games 1997 , Jakarta, SCTV, sebagai Host
*** Tokoh Indonesia, dari berbagai sumber.
Ensiklopedi Tokoh Indonesia. All right reserved. Design and Maintenance by Esero
Taksu Jakarta
A Jakarta based writer Helly Minarty just told me that she was at Taksu Jakarta again last night for an exhibition and commented that I was not like few years ago. Then I google Taksu and found Hera Diani's article on Middle Mountain: Mirror Mirror that I produced in 2003.
`Middle Mountain' showcases one's journey
Features - June 06, 2003
Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Middle-Earth, according to the author J.R.R. Tolkien, is "the ancient world, the quiet of the world, when there was less noise and more green".
Then what is Middle Mountain?
Middle mountain is the top view of a mountain, where the space gets smaller and smaller, shrinking to a point where it is most crucial as the sharpest and most energetic power provider, but at the same time the most dangerous and most vulnerable.
It is a space where one exiles her or himself from what's surrounding her or him, except for the natural environment -- wind, light, soil, sky and the spirit within.
While Middle-Earth is inhabited by creatures like hobbits, elves and humans, Middle Mountain is occupied by several artists, Indonesians and foreigners, who gathered and created a performance called Middle Mountain: Mirror Mirror.
Scheduled to be held this Friday on 8 p.m. at the Taksu Gallery in Kemang, Middle Mountain is a theatrical installation of dance, text, visuals and sound, produced by Arts Exchange Asia and the Gallery.
Although some people may associate Taksu with the little gallery in Ubud, Bali, or the Taksu Studio Community in Surakarta, Central Java, Taksu Gallery in Kemang is actually related to the one in Kuala Lumpur, which was set up over five years ago.
The artists who will perform on Friday are Elly Luthan, Chendra Effendy & Naui.Indonesia.com, Maria Bernadeth, Zulkifli Mohamad, Agus M. Bendul, Renjani, Ade Darmawan, Alex Supartono, John Arata, Ann Wizer, Bidhu, and Anisah Korchack & Miss X.
The theme of Middle Mountain itself represents the process and journey of a person, and a meeting point where things exist, according to a press release. The journey is a journey of reflecting oneself, like seeing oneself in the mirror, so that is where the title of the performance comes from.
The reflections of self, the release says, might come as phrases of text, stories from the past; like a child being read a story before going to sleep and the story fades away; like glimpses of light passing before us, or trains of old black and white photos; like the sound of mosquitoes circling around your head and going away.
In each journey, however, one will decide what to choose, when to start and when to stop. One might go back to what he was reflecting, but the reflection might not always be the same each time he visits that frame of mind.
Each artist will perform or exhibit his or her work in the closed and open spaces of the gallery. The gallery will have the concept of a traveling audience by using two entry points: the so-called front and back entrance/exit, which creates fluidity and a spiral effect.
The two audience groups might come across the so-called tunnel of visual images, which connects the various parts of the artists' works.
Middle Mountain: Mirror Mirror; Taksu Gallery, Jl. Kemang Barat No. 5-7, South Jakarta; Friday, 8 p.m.
>>>>May be it is time to revisit Taksu in Jakarta
`Middle Mountain' showcases one's journey
Features - June 06, 2003
Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Middle-Earth, according to the author J.R.R. Tolkien, is "the ancient world, the quiet of the world, when there was less noise and more green".
Then what is Middle Mountain?
Middle mountain is the top view of a mountain, where the space gets smaller and smaller, shrinking to a point where it is most crucial as the sharpest and most energetic power provider, but at the same time the most dangerous and most vulnerable.
It is a space where one exiles her or himself from what's surrounding her or him, except for the natural environment -- wind, light, soil, sky and the spirit within.
While Middle-Earth is inhabited by creatures like hobbits, elves and humans, Middle Mountain is occupied by several artists, Indonesians and foreigners, who gathered and created a performance called Middle Mountain: Mirror Mirror.
Scheduled to be held this Friday on 8 p.m. at the Taksu Gallery in Kemang, Middle Mountain is a theatrical installation of dance, text, visuals and sound, produced by Arts Exchange Asia and the Gallery.
Although some people may associate Taksu with the little gallery in Ubud, Bali, or the Taksu Studio Community in Surakarta, Central Java, Taksu Gallery in Kemang is actually related to the one in Kuala Lumpur, which was set up over five years ago.
The artists who will perform on Friday are Elly Luthan, Chendra Effendy & Naui.Indonesia.com, Maria Bernadeth, Zulkifli Mohamad, Agus M. Bendul, Renjani, Ade Darmawan, Alex Supartono, John Arata, Ann Wizer, Bidhu, and Anisah Korchack & Miss X.
The theme of Middle Mountain itself represents the process and journey of a person, and a meeting point where things exist, according to a press release. The journey is a journey of reflecting oneself, like seeing oneself in the mirror, so that is where the title of the performance comes from.
The reflections of self, the release says, might come as phrases of text, stories from the past; like a child being read a story before going to sleep and the story fades away; like glimpses of light passing before us, or trains of old black and white photos; like the sound of mosquitoes circling around your head and going away.
In each journey, however, one will decide what to choose, when to start and when to stop. One might go back to what he was reflecting, but the reflection might not always be the same each time he visits that frame of mind.
Each artist will perform or exhibit his or her work in the closed and open spaces of the gallery. The gallery will have the concept of a traveling audience by using two entry points: the so-called front and back entrance/exit, which creates fluidity and a spiral effect.
The two audience groups might come across the so-called tunnel of visual images, which connects the various parts of the artists' works.
Middle Mountain: Mirror Mirror; Taksu Gallery, Jl. Kemang Barat No. 5-7, South Jakarta; Friday, 8 p.m.
>>>>May be it is time to revisit Taksu in Jakarta
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Larangan Erotisme Di Indonesia
SUARA PEMBARUAN DAILY 20 March 2006
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Seniman Dunia Minta RUU APP Ditinjau Ulang
JAKARTA - Ratusan seniman dan sarjana seni pentas dunia meminta agar Rancangan Undang-Undang tentang Antipornografi dan Pornoaksi (RUU APP) ditinjau ulang. Mereka meminta agar pemerintah dan kalangan elite politik Indonesia menyesuaikan RUU itu dengan kebutuhan seni dan budaya Indonesia.
Pernyataan para seniman dan sarjana seni pentas dunia itu terangkum dalam aksi pengumpulan tanda tangan meminta agar RUU APP ditinjau ulang. Rencananya, surat itu akan dikirimkan kepada Presiden Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. "Kami, sarjana dan seniman dari dalam dan luar negeri menyampaikan keprihatinan atas RUU APP," ujar Aviva Kartiningsih Cohen, salah satu penggagas aksi pengumpulan tanda tangan itu, kepada Pembaruan melalui surat elektronik di Jakarta, Sabtu (18/3) siang.
Beberapa nama seniman dunia yang ikut menandatangani pernyataan sikap itu antara lain, musisi Gary McFarlane (Kanada), penata tari Zulkifli Mohmad (Kuala Lumpur), Ibrahim Hamid (Orkestra Melayu Singapura), Wayne Vitale (Pimpinan Gamelan Sekar Jaya, Amerika Serikat), Cindy Benton-Groner (Direktur Gamelan, College of William and Mary, AS), Jon Keliehor (Komponis dan Ketua Gamelan Naga Mas, Glasgow, Skotlandia), dan Jan van der Putten (Dosen Sastra Melayu, Singapura).
Dari Indonesia, nama-nama seniman yang ikut menandatangani surat itu antara lain Ikranagara (seniman), Rahayu Supanggah (STSI Surakarta), Nirwan Dewanto (sastrawan), Nor Pud Binarto (budayawan dan aktivis kemanusiaan), Andi Suandi (pelukis abstrak), Cok Sawitri (penyair), dan I Wayan Gde Yudane (komponis).
Menurut Aviva, seniman dan sarjana seni dunia sangat peduli dengan budaya dan seni di Indonesia. Menurut mereka, seni Indonesia sudah berkembang di luar negeri. "Jika akar seni dan budaya Indonesia dirusak, semua yang telah berkembang di luar negeri itu akan rusak pula. Sementara di sisi lain, dalam era globalisasi ini dampak RUU APP akan dirasakan pula di luar Indonesia," kata dia.
Seni pentas Indonesia, terutama seni gamelan, wayang, serta tari Jawa dan Bali, telah menjadi sumber kreativitas seniman dan sarjana seni dunia. Malah, seni wayang sudah diakui resmi sebagai Warisan Budaya Dunia Nonbendawi dari UNESCO.
Mengurangi Kreativitas
Aviva menambahkan, RUU APP akan melarang orang untuk menyiarkan, memperdengarkan, mempertontonkan atau menempelkan tulisan, suara atau rekaman suara, film atau yang dapat disamakan dengan film, syair lagu, puisi, gambar, foto dan/atau lukisan yang mengeksploitasi daya tarik tubuh atau bagian-bagian tubuh orang yang menari erotis atau bergoyang erotis. Aturan itu bisa ditafsirkan sebagai larangan terhadap seni tari daerah, seperti tayuban, joget, ronggeng, jaipongan, dan gandrung Banyuwangi.
Selain itu, sastra klasik ala Serat Centhini dan ceritera pokok pewayangan tidak bisa tampil lagi. Salah satu contoh adalah lakon Murwakala yang menggambarkan kelahiran Batara Kala. Pada lakon itu digambarkan Batara Guru terpesona melihat seorang perempuan sehingga kamanya (nafsu) timbul. Lakon ini paling penting bagi para dalang, tetapi bisa dilarang karena bisa dianggap erotis. Jadi, batas antara seni dan erotisme (langen dalam bahasa Jawa) kerap kali tidak jelas. (O-1)
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Last modified: 20/3/06
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Seniman Dunia Minta RUU APP Ditinjau Ulang
JAKARTA - Ratusan seniman dan sarjana seni pentas dunia meminta agar Rancangan Undang-Undang tentang Antipornografi dan Pornoaksi (RUU APP) ditinjau ulang. Mereka meminta agar pemerintah dan kalangan elite politik Indonesia menyesuaikan RUU itu dengan kebutuhan seni dan budaya Indonesia.
Pernyataan para seniman dan sarjana seni pentas dunia itu terangkum dalam aksi pengumpulan tanda tangan meminta agar RUU APP ditinjau ulang. Rencananya, surat itu akan dikirimkan kepada Presiden Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. "Kami, sarjana dan seniman dari dalam dan luar negeri menyampaikan keprihatinan atas RUU APP," ujar Aviva Kartiningsih Cohen, salah satu penggagas aksi pengumpulan tanda tangan itu, kepada Pembaruan melalui surat elektronik di Jakarta, Sabtu (18/3) siang.
Beberapa nama seniman dunia yang ikut menandatangani pernyataan sikap itu antara lain, musisi Gary McFarlane (Kanada), penata tari Zulkifli Mohmad (Kuala Lumpur), Ibrahim Hamid (Orkestra Melayu Singapura), Wayne Vitale (Pimpinan Gamelan Sekar Jaya, Amerika Serikat), Cindy Benton-Groner (Direktur Gamelan, College of William and Mary, AS), Jon Keliehor (Komponis dan Ketua Gamelan Naga Mas, Glasgow, Skotlandia), dan Jan van der Putten (Dosen Sastra Melayu, Singapura).
Dari Indonesia, nama-nama seniman yang ikut menandatangani surat itu antara lain Ikranagara (seniman), Rahayu Supanggah (STSI Surakarta), Nirwan Dewanto (sastrawan), Nor Pud Binarto (budayawan dan aktivis kemanusiaan), Andi Suandi (pelukis abstrak), Cok Sawitri (penyair), dan I Wayan Gde Yudane (komponis).
Menurut Aviva, seniman dan sarjana seni dunia sangat peduli dengan budaya dan seni di Indonesia. Menurut mereka, seni Indonesia sudah berkembang di luar negeri. "Jika akar seni dan budaya Indonesia dirusak, semua yang telah berkembang di luar negeri itu akan rusak pula. Sementara di sisi lain, dalam era globalisasi ini dampak RUU APP akan dirasakan pula di luar Indonesia," kata dia.
Seni pentas Indonesia, terutama seni gamelan, wayang, serta tari Jawa dan Bali, telah menjadi sumber kreativitas seniman dan sarjana seni dunia. Malah, seni wayang sudah diakui resmi sebagai Warisan Budaya Dunia Nonbendawi dari UNESCO.
Mengurangi Kreativitas
Aviva menambahkan, RUU APP akan melarang orang untuk menyiarkan, memperdengarkan, mempertontonkan atau menempelkan tulisan, suara atau rekaman suara, film atau yang dapat disamakan dengan film, syair lagu, puisi, gambar, foto dan/atau lukisan yang mengeksploitasi daya tarik tubuh atau bagian-bagian tubuh orang yang menari erotis atau bergoyang erotis. Aturan itu bisa ditafsirkan sebagai larangan terhadap seni tari daerah, seperti tayuban, joget, ronggeng, jaipongan, dan gandrung Banyuwangi.
Selain itu, sastra klasik ala Serat Centhini dan ceritera pokok pewayangan tidak bisa tampil lagi. Salah satu contoh adalah lakon Murwakala yang menggambarkan kelahiran Batara Kala. Pada lakon itu digambarkan Batara Guru terpesona melihat seorang perempuan sehingga kamanya (nafsu) timbul. Lakon ini paling penting bagi para dalang, tetapi bisa dilarang karena bisa dianggap erotis. Jadi, batas antara seni dan erotisme (langen dalam bahasa Jawa) kerap kali tidak jelas. (O-1)
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Last modified: 20/3/06
Friday, March 03, 2006
From Sakura to Selipar Jepun
Salam Sejahtera Semua
Monolog Sakura telah dipersetujui sebagai salah satu teater yang akan dipersembahkan oleh Stor Teater Dewan Bahasa. Walaubagaimanapun, kami masih menunggu keputusan peruntukan. Stor Teater juga akan dibuka semula selepas ubahsuai menambahkan tempat duduk penonton ke 100 orang pada bulan april. Mungkin the best time to perform would be June. Kami juga bercadang untuk meluaskan ruang persembahan dan mungkin melihat posibil;iti mementaskannya di Dewan Syed Nasir yang sudah lama tidak digunakan, sekaligus mempunyai banyak sejarah persembahan teater. Antara pelakon yang sudah bersetuju termasuklah Sallehuddin dan saikorkestra, Mislina, Joe Lee(Malay Mail), Azreen Andaman serta beberapa pemain jemputan. Terima kasih.
Monolog Sakura telah dipersetujui sebagai salah satu teater yang akan dipersembahkan oleh Stor Teater Dewan Bahasa. Walaubagaimanapun, kami masih menunggu keputusan peruntukan. Stor Teater juga akan dibuka semula selepas ubahsuai menambahkan tempat duduk penonton ke 100 orang pada bulan april. Mungkin the best time to perform would be June. Kami juga bercadang untuk meluaskan ruang persembahan dan mungkin melihat posibil;iti mementaskannya di Dewan Syed Nasir yang sudah lama tidak digunakan, sekaligus mempunyai banyak sejarah persembahan teater. Antara pelakon yang sudah bersetuju termasuklah Sallehuddin dan saikorkestra, Mislina, Joe Lee(Malay Mail), Azreen Andaman serta beberapa pemain jemputan. Terima kasih.
Thursday, December 29, 2005
Coming Production>> Kembang Bungo Sakura (Monologue Series)
Kembang Bungo Sakura menampilkan empat karekter: Che Bungo Intan Berlian(55 tahun, seorang ibu rumah yang gigih berniaga untuk menyara keluarga), Yee(25 tahun, seorang transeksual yang hidup di desa sebagai Mak Andam), Kenanga(35 tahun, seorang transeksual yang menetap di singapura, asalnya dari keluarga Cina di Port Klang) & Che Hassan (55 tahun, pernah menjadi tahanan perang dunia II dan buruh keretapi maut di Burma). Pertemuan berlaku dalam tahun 1975 di Singapura. Saksikanlah nanti di panggung terdekat anda di Kuala Lumpur.
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
"Kota Sang Naga", Prequel to Chini
After the successful collaboration between storyteller: Zulkifli Mohamad, Director & Artistic Director: Hamzah Tahir and Children of Tunas Budaya - Jabatan Kesenian, Kebudayaan and Warisan, Wilayah Persekutuan, Chini, the children dance theatre was staged at the small theatre of Istana Budaya in September 2005. The production was an unlucky collaboration with the notorious producer consist of Mr.Mohzan, Ms.Intan Shahnaz and a Yayasan under the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development). After 1 year rehearsal with the children and successful staging at the Istana Budaya, the producer failed to pay to the people involved, including 50 children performing. The writer is in the process of reporting the matter to the newspaper.
Despite of the unlucky collaboration, Zulkifli Mohamad is now ready with his requel to "Kota Sang Naga".
Despite of the unlucky collaboration, Zulkifli Mohamad is now ready with his requel to "Kota Sang Naga".
LALAK in NSTP Group Online
1. MA 04/12/2005 Melalak di Panggung DBKL Oleh ABIE ABDULLAH (387 wds)
MAHU atau tidak, perlu diakui dunia tarian di Malaysia kian malap. Sejak persembahan Emas 10 September di Istana Budaya tahun lalu, artistik itu bagaikan hilang daripada pandangan persada seni negara. Bukan tiada penonton. Buktinya, persembahan tarian dari French Dance Troupe di KL Pac baru-baru ini mendapat sambutan memberangsangkan.
2. MM 02/12/2005 Howling on stage By Amir Hafizi (758 wds)
WHEN people say lalak or melalak, the image they usually try to convey would either be kids yelling hysterically or a teenager singing in the bathroom relying more on passion rather than talent. Probably that's what five Malaysian choreographers wanted to portray through their contemporary dance anthology. Well, at least they're doing it with a whole bucket-load of talent.
3. BM 27/11/2005 Lalak selit tragedi Tak Bai Oleh Roslen Fadzil (325 wds)
KEMELUT yang pernah melanda tanah air mahupun negara serantau seperti tragedi tsunami serta pertumpahan darah di Tak Bai, Thailand adalah antara peristiwa hitam yang sukar dilupakan. Ia menarik perhatian semua termasuklah sekumpulan koreografer yang akan beraksi dalam satu kolaborasi tarian kontemporari menarik berjudul Lalak. Persembahan yang julung kali dianjurkan Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL) dengan kerjasama Svarnabhumi Studio (SVB) itu akan dipentaskan di Panggung Bandaraya, Kuala Lumpur mulai 2 hingga 4 Disember ini.
MAHU atau tidak, perlu diakui dunia tarian di Malaysia kian malap. Sejak persembahan Emas 10 September di Istana Budaya tahun lalu, artistik itu bagaikan hilang daripada pandangan persada seni negara. Bukan tiada penonton. Buktinya, persembahan tarian dari French Dance Troupe di KL Pac baru-baru ini mendapat sambutan memberangsangkan.
2. MM 02/12/2005 Howling on stage By Amir Hafizi (758 wds)
WHEN people say lalak or melalak, the image they usually try to convey would either be kids yelling hysterically or a teenager singing in the bathroom relying more on passion rather than talent. Probably that's what five Malaysian choreographers wanted to portray through their contemporary dance anthology. Well, at least they're doing it with a whole bucket-load of talent.
3. BM 27/11/2005 Lalak selit tragedi Tak Bai Oleh Roslen Fadzil (325 wds)
KEMELUT yang pernah melanda tanah air mahupun negara serantau seperti tragedi tsunami serta pertumpahan darah di Tak Bai, Thailand adalah antara peristiwa hitam yang sukar dilupakan. Ia menarik perhatian semua termasuklah sekumpulan koreografer yang akan beraksi dalam satu kolaborasi tarian kontemporari menarik berjudul Lalak. Persembahan yang julung kali dianjurkan Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL) dengan kerjasama Svarnabhumi Studio (SVB) itu akan dipentaskan di Panggung Bandaraya, Kuala Lumpur mulai 2 hingga 4 Disember ini.
LALAK
LALAK, A Contemporary Dance Theatre Production
Venue: Panggung Bandaraya, Sultan Abdul Samad Building,
Jalan Raja, 50506, Kuala Lumpur
Date & Time: Fri 2 - Sun 4 Dec 2005 Telephone: 03-2699 3872
Synopsis: The word 'Lalak' means to scream or yell loudly. This word just about sums up what the five gifted choreographer/dancers are longing to do - scream out against our increasingly materialistic world, where Western values are lauded and where art has taken a backseat to everything else. Lalak is also meant to be a dialogue that questions the integrity of Malay people in this era of globalisation.
The five choreographers who have joined forces to produce this are Syed Mustapha, Jasni Ahmad, Hamid Chan, Junainah Long and Zulkifli Mohamad. They have produced two dances each, one solo piece (where they will perform their own dance) and one group piece.
The program:
Choreographer: Syed Mustapha
Solo Piece: Keliru
Group Piece: Om Bak
Choreographer: Jasni Ahmad
Solo piece: Argo-Gede
Group Piece: Episod Hanuman
Choreographer: Hamid Chan
Solo piece: Paroiku
Group Piece: Kukuda
Choreographer: Junainah Long
Solo piece: Untitled I – Suara Tubuh
Group Piece: Untitled II - Wanita
Choreographer: Zulkifli Mohamad
Solo piece: 1914:2004
Group Piece: Jadi Jawa Jawi
Produced by Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur in collaboration with Svarnabhumi(SVB) Studio.
Links: http://www.dbkl.gov.my/panggung/index.php
Public Rating: (5 votes)
User Comments:
most wanted performance Sun, Dec 04 2005 17:26:06
satu persembahan yang menarik.setiap kareografer mempunyai daya tari yang dapat menarik penonton untuk terus duduk dikerusi.
posted by colourfull chicken situmas@yahoo.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
syabas dbkl! Good Start! Mon, Dec 05 2005 02:54:38
Satu event yang seharusnya menjadi aktiviti tahunan dbkl. Harapnya memberi nafas baru kepada artis budaya dbkl untuk menerokai dunia kontemporari.
posted by anjung anjungtari@yahoo.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
bolehlah... Wed, Dec 07 2005 15:22:02
tahniah kepada penari yang menjayakan lalak...
ada sesetengah koreografi itu memang menarik. dan ada juga yang menarik.
ada sesetengah koreogari yang menggunakan lagu yang sama dengan kereografi saudara en sukarji dari I.K.J UNTUK KOREOGRAFINYA yang berjudul MANOHARA semasa tari 2005.
kebanyakan koreografi ini menggunakan lagu dari seberang iaitu dari indonesia...
seperti yang kita tahu malaysia kurang khususnya pemuzik yang memgeluarkan lagu2 seperti yang dibuat oleh karyawan muzik indonesia iaitu lagu yang berunsurkan relax dan sebagainya....
tapi tak apa itu bukannya menghalang koreografer di malaysia untuk berkarya.. tak semestinya koreografi kontemporari yang menggunakan muzikkan...
tepuk dada fikirkan sendiri...
bye.....
posted by anak seni yang merdeka firdaus5419@yahoo.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
bolehla.... Mon, Dec 12 2005 01:44:04
Exactly,this was my 1st time watching this kind of event, what we call that because i don't know much about it (please inform if i made a mistake).For me okla walaupun x faham but i can still enjoy the event,i bukannya minat sangat tapi i learned something new about drama tarian it give me some new experience in my life,drama tarian LALAK dari apa yang saya lihat ia merupakan satu drama tarian yang mana penari mengeluarkan satu expresi emosi,wajah,sikap yang boleh dikatakan abstract untuk dilihat.Walaupun begitu gandingan beberapa choreographer menjadikan drama tarian itu hidup.so that all from me.....arsyad
posted by muhammad arsyad arsyad85@yahoo.com.sg
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
La La La Lak Wed, Dec 14 2005 15:47:16
Terima kasih orang yang menonton dan komen2 yang ada, amat berterima kasih. Kita ni masih baru dalam dunia tari kontemporari di Malaysia. Kalau ada sambutan kita akan meneruskan perjuangan ini, insyallah. Sememangnya Lalak menghidangkan perbagai bentuk tradisi tari kontemporari yang mungkin menarik perhatian orang yang berbeza, walaupu itu hanyalah secara kebetulan. Kita berharap tahun hadapan kita akan menampilkan karya-karya baru dari koreografer yang lain pula dan mungkin juga koreografer antarabangsa, sekurang-kurangnya dari ASEAN dan Asia kalau tidak dari benua lain. Seseungguhnya tari melayu di Malaysia tu ada pelbagai peringkat pengembangannya. Kita juga harus menyimpan khazanah yang lama kita ada seperti Mak Yong, Manora, Asyik, Gamelan, Terinai dsb. Selamat menonton.
Semuga seni tanahair terus berkembang.
Venue: Panggung Bandaraya, Sultan Abdul Samad Building,
Jalan Raja, 50506, Kuala Lumpur
Date & Time: Fri 2 - Sun 4 Dec 2005 Telephone: 03-2699 3872
Synopsis: The word 'Lalak' means to scream or yell loudly. This word just about sums up what the five gifted choreographer/dancers are longing to do - scream out against our increasingly materialistic world, where Western values are lauded and where art has taken a backseat to everything else. Lalak is also meant to be a dialogue that questions the integrity of Malay people in this era of globalisation.
The five choreographers who have joined forces to produce this are Syed Mustapha, Jasni Ahmad, Hamid Chan, Junainah Long and Zulkifli Mohamad. They have produced two dances each, one solo piece (where they will perform their own dance) and one group piece.
The program:
Choreographer: Syed Mustapha
Solo Piece: Keliru
Group Piece: Om Bak
Choreographer: Jasni Ahmad
Solo piece: Argo-Gede
Group Piece: Episod Hanuman
Choreographer: Hamid Chan
Solo piece: Paroiku
Group Piece: Kukuda
Choreographer: Junainah Long
Solo piece: Untitled I – Suara Tubuh
Group Piece: Untitled II - Wanita
Choreographer: Zulkifli Mohamad
Solo piece: 1914:2004
Group Piece: Jadi Jawa Jawi
Produced by Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur in collaboration with Svarnabhumi(SVB) Studio.
Links: http://www.dbkl.gov.my/panggung/index.php
Public Rating: (5 votes)
User Comments:
most wanted performance Sun, Dec 04 2005 17:26:06
satu persembahan yang menarik.setiap kareografer mempunyai daya tari yang dapat menarik penonton untuk terus duduk dikerusi.
posted by colourfull chicken situmas@yahoo.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
syabas dbkl! Good Start! Mon, Dec 05 2005 02:54:38
Satu event yang seharusnya menjadi aktiviti tahunan dbkl. Harapnya memberi nafas baru kepada artis budaya dbkl untuk menerokai dunia kontemporari.
posted by anjung anjungtari@yahoo.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
bolehlah... Wed, Dec 07 2005 15:22:02
tahniah kepada penari yang menjayakan lalak...
ada sesetengah koreografi itu memang menarik. dan ada juga yang menarik.
ada sesetengah koreogari yang menggunakan lagu yang sama dengan kereografi saudara en sukarji dari I.K.J UNTUK KOREOGRAFINYA yang berjudul MANOHARA semasa tari 2005.
kebanyakan koreografi ini menggunakan lagu dari seberang iaitu dari indonesia...
seperti yang kita tahu malaysia kurang khususnya pemuzik yang memgeluarkan lagu2 seperti yang dibuat oleh karyawan muzik indonesia iaitu lagu yang berunsurkan relax dan sebagainya....
tapi tak apa itu bukannya menghalang koreografer di malaysia untuk berkarya.. tak semestinya koreografi kontemporari yang menggunakan muzikkan...
tepuk dada fikirkan sendiri...
bye.....
posted by anak seni yang merdeka firdaus5419@yahoo.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
bolehla.... Mon, Dec 12 2005 01:44:04
Exactly,this was my 1st time watching this kind of event, what we call that because i don't know much about it (please inform if i made a mistake).For me okla walaupun x faham but i can still enjoy the event,i bukannya minat sangat tapi i learned something new about drama tarian it give me some new experience in my life,drama tarian LALAK dari apa yang saya lihat ia merupakan satu drama tarian yang mana penari mengeluarkan satu expresi emosi,wajah,sikap yang boleh dikatakan abstract untuk dilihat.Walaupun begitu gandingan beberapa choreographer menjadikan drama tarian itu hidup.so that all from me.....arsyad
posted by muhammad arsyad arsyad85@yahoo.com.sg
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
La La La Lak Wed, Dec 14 2005 15:47:16
Terima kasih orang yang menonton dan komen2 yang ada, amat berterima kasih. Kita ni masih baru dalam dunia tari kontemporari di Malaysia. Kalau ada sambutan kita akan meneruskan perjuangan ini, insyallah. Sememangnya Lalak menghidangkan perbagai bentuk tradisi tari kontemporari yang mungkin menarik perhatian orang yang berbeza, walaupu itu hanyalah secara kebetulan. Kita berharap tahun hadapan kita akan menampilkan karya-karya baru dari koreografer yang lain pula dan mungkin juga koreografer antarabangsa, sekurang-kurangnya dari ASEAN dan Asia kalau tidak dari benua lain. Seseungguhnya tari melayu di Malaysia tu ada pelbagai peringkat pengembangannya. Kita juga harus menyimpan khazanah yang lama kita ada seperti Mak Yong, Manora, Asyik, Gamelan, Terinai dsb. Selamat menonton.
Semuga seni tanahair terus berkembang.
Saturday, October 29, 2005
SEA Films; SEA in Paris
Bingo : in Paris "Be with me" is played at this very same cinema near Pompidou where they gave the Thaï film.
Natalie, Paris, France
> Objet : Re: Singapore and SEA movie
>
> Hello Natalie and friends
> Great. Where are they showing that in Paris? The last
> time I was there, they were showing "Iron Ladies" the
> Thai movie on drag queens playing valleyball at the
> cinema near Pompidu. Probably more Thi movies showed
> in France like Tropical Malady. Late last year I also
> watch another briliant Thai "Citizen Dog". Early this
> year I watched an Indonesian movie similar to Citizen
> Dog called "Banyu Biru"(helly was the publicist for
> that). In KL thi year too I watch few more Indo Films
> like "Unggu Violet" "Tentang Cinta". Perhaps Malaysian
> better movie would be "sepet" shown in Cannes about
> young teenage girl fell in love with young chinese boy
> in a small town in Malaysia.
>
> Jim, I have great meeting with Jin Xiang and an audio
> docu film director and two poets in Shanghai during my
> ICAS conference.
>
> Jean Pascal. my god have not seen you for a long time.
> How's India? I just got my DR and will start looking
> for job again, anywhere in the world. But now enjoying
> making contemporary dance in malaysia as well as
> writing for internet arts magazine (www.kkiseni.com),
> also teaching part time for Arts Management at local
> uni.
>
> Azizah, any new film in Jakarta.
>
> Next year I am organiing Asia Documentary Film Forum
> in KL. Please send me something if you have anything.
>
> Hppy Eid
>
> Zul
> www.svarnabhumi.blogpot.com
>
> > Dear All,
> > Just to tell you I have seen an excellent
> > Singaporian film:
> > "Be with me" from Eric Khoo.
> > Nothing to do with the Marlin, Raffles and other
> > glittering symbols.
________________
Natalie Guignabaudet
Paris France
Natalie, Paris, France
> Objet : Re: Singapore and SEA movie
>
> Hello Natalie and friends
> Great. Where are they showing that in Paris? The last
> time I was there, they were showing "Iron Ladies" the
> Thai movie on drag queens playing valleyball at the
> cinema near Pompidu. Probably more Thi movies showed
> in France like Tropical Malady. Late last year I also
> watch another briliant Thai "Citizen Dog". Early this
> year I watched an Indonesian movie similar to Citizen
> Dog called "Banyu Biru"(helly was the publicist for
> that). In KL thi year too I watch few more Indo Films
> like "Unggu Violet" "Tentang Cinta". Perhaps Malaysian
> better movie would be "sepet" shown in Cannes about
> young teenage girl fell in love with young chinese boy
> in a small town in Malaysia.
>
> Jim, I have great meeting with Jin Xiang and an audio
> docu film director and two poets in Shanghai during my
> ICAS conference.
>
> Jean Pascal. my god have not seen you for a long time.
> How's India? I just got my DR and will start looking
> for job again, anywhere in the world. But now enjoying
> making contemporary dance in malaysia as well as
> writing for internet arts magazine (www.kkiseni.com),
> also teaching part time for Arts Management at local
> uni.
>
> Azizah, any new film in Jakarta.
>
> Next year I am organiing Asia Documentary Film Forum
> in KL. Please send me something if you have anything.
>
> Hppy Eid
>
> Zul
> www.svarnabhumi.blogpot.com
>
> > Dear All,
> > Just to tell you I have seen an excellent
> > Singaporian film:
> > "Be with me" from Eric Khoo.
> > Nothing to do with the Marlin, Raffles and other
> > glittering symbols.
________________
Natalie Guignabaudet
Paris France
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Race and Bronze Theory, and SEA Performing Arts
---js228 wrote:
> Dear Khun Zulki,
> I just had a time to read your article about
> Langasuka in full. Excellent
> work!!! I really enjoy that though
> I have a different theory concerning Srivijaya as
> the federation of the
> nautical princely city-states in
> Java, Sumatra and mainland Southeast Asia.
> Well...after reading several claims I tend to
> believe that there were no real
> centre of power in this
> region, but many city-states that were tied togeter
> by trades and family
> connection. Jayavarman II of
> Angor was the Sailendra from Java. The legend from
> the present day south of
> Thailand tells the story of
> a prince who arrived in Patani whose son found the
> city of U-Thong in Chao
> Praya river basin. The
> present Thai language itself (though the royal thai
> academy love to associate
> it with Tai-Kadai) is a
> creole language, which is a combination of different
> languages including
> Javanese & Malay. I myself am
> a descendant of Sultan Sulaiman of Singora who was
> of Persian stock from Java.
> Therefore, I strongly believe in the importance of
> transmigration and
> interactions between cultural
> group in the process of cultural formation of
> Southeast Asia. I have found the
> 'Race Theory' in the
> exisiting tradition of historical writing
> unstatisfactory and misleading. They
> create more conflict than
> understanding of how we became the way we are and
> how we want to be in the
> future.
> At the moment I am reading the history of Southeast
> Asian performing arts
> through the
> interpretation of bronze drums from Dongson Culture.
> Your account of
> Mayong/Manora and Naga is
> very useful as it helps me to be able to link many
> thing together. I will send
> a copy to you when I finish
> writing. I feel
> that you are one of a handful
> people I could discuss thing Southeast Asian with.
> Regards,
> Golf
>
> Jirayudh SINTHUPHAN
> Dear Khun Zulki,
> I just had a time to read your article about
> Langasuka in full. Excellent
> work!!! I really enjoy that though
> I have a different theory concerning Srivijaya as
> the federation of the
> nautical princely city-states in
> Java, Sumatra and mainland Southeast Asia.
> Well...after reading several claims I tend to
> believe that there were no real
> centre of power in this
> region, but many city-states that were tied togeter
> by trades and family
> connection. Jayavarman II of
> Angor was the Sailendra from Java. The legend from
> the present day south of
> Thailand tells the story of
> a prince who arrived in Patani whose son found the
> city of U-Thong in Chao
> Praya river basin. The
> present Thai language itself (though the royal thai
> academy love to associate
> it with Tai-Kadai) is a
> creole language, which is a combination of different
> languages including
> Javanese & Malay. I myself am
> a descendant of Sultan Sulaiman of Singora who was
> of Persian stock from Java.
> Therefore, I strongly believe in the importance of
> transmigration and
> interactions between cultural
> group in the process of cultural formation of
> Southeast Asia. I have found the
> 'Race Theory' in the
> exisiting tradition of historical writing
> unstatisfactory and misleading. They
> create more conflict than
> understanding of how we became the way we are and
> how we want to be in the
> future.
> At the moment I am reading the history of Southeast
> Asian performing arts
> through the
> interpretation of bronze drums from Dongson Culture.
> Your account of
> Mayong/Manora and Naga is
> very useful as it helps me to be able to link many
> thing together. I will send
> a copy to you when I finish
> writing. I feel
> that you are one of a handful
> people I could discuss thing Southeast Asian with.
> Regards,
> Golf
>
> Jirayudh SINTHUPHAN
Thursday, September 15, 2005
MAWI and PAS MALAYSIA
SO MAWI IS CELEBRATING KOTA BHARU AS ISLAMIC CITY OF MALAYSIA ON 1 OCTOBER. IT IS INTERESTING TO SEE HOW THE DIFFERENT CAMPS OF PAS HAVE DIFFERENT OPINIONS, WHICH IS VALID TO DISCUSS. BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY NIK AZIZ HAS HIS GOOD POINT. BRAVO NIK AZIZ
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Last Nite in Shanghai and Giant Leap
It was my last nite in Shanghai. I came back to my funny hotel Joyage and found a note from my Berliner academic. He was drinking at with his German friend at a Shanghainese friend. I went and found myself discussing about living in Shanghai, where to stay out of Shanghai, to make money or to make art and next talking about their German rock band singing in Chinese. Next, this Shaihainese friend showed his new audio documentary video, mostly inspired by Giant Leap project. Then I told him that I was on it too, where they interviewed me and dance on it too. He was so impressed with the project and like to follow that. As for me, I have not seen it on tv except that I was told that the programme was shown on Discovery Channel and National geographic before Christmas 2002.
Friday, September 02, 2005
Border Crossing
So more people were killed in South Thailand, nearer to us now in Sungai Golok, two minutes cross from Rantau Panjang, Kelantan, 15 mins from my house in Pasir Mas actually. 131 people ran to Malaysia yesterday and Taksin wanted them back. Of course Thai government has declared South under "Emergency" status and they could arrest anyone, which is very unfair!!!!!!
For us, we only watch telivision and we could just switch off the telly!
I got a phone call from an america-french friend in Bangkok saying that nothing much of modern dance making in Bangkok. He is just taking and giving dance classes. And he though we have better luck in Kuala Lumpur. Are we?
For us, we only watch telivision and we could just switch off the telly!
I got a phone call from an america-french friend in Bangkok saying that nothing much of modern dance making in Bangkok. He is just taking and giving dance classes. And he though we have better luck in Kuala Lumpur. Are we?
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Queens of Pattani
The Queens of Pattani
If stories give life to a place, those of the four queens of Pattani recall laughter and tears, love and revenge that shaped a chatpter of the little known history of this Islamic maritime kingdom about sex centuries ago. Subhatra Bhumiprabhas and Natiya Tangwisutijit trace the facinating story of the queens
Nobody knows what Princess Ijau might have thought when she ascended the throne as the first queen of Pattani in 1584.
After the death of her father, Sultan Manzur Syah, in 1572, Ijau and her two younger sisters had to endure 12 traumatic years witnessing brothers and cousins killing one another in their battle for the throne. The conflict was resolved when all of the male heirs were assassinated, paving the way for Ijau's ascension.
Today's historians - and, indeed, ancient European traders and travellers who arrived in the Islamic kingdom - had different views about Pattani's century-long rule by women. Some opinions appear more favourable than others. But the predominant conclusion was that Queen Ijau and her sisters who succeeded to the throne were no more than puppet monarchs. Behind them must have been capable male ministers who governed in her name without the queens' actual participation.
French traveller Nicholas Gervaise, for example, wrote in the 1680s that Raja Ijau was not allowed to enter at all into the secrets of state affairs.
"[The queen] had to content herself with the respect and homage which everyone formally rendered her as their sovereign," Gervaise was quoted in "Hikayat Pattani", a classic Malay account of the history of this Islamic kingdom.
"They [the ministers] did not allow her the freedom to choose her own high officials, but they never refused her anything which could contribute to her pleasure," he wrote.
Such a view, however, could not properly explain why under the rule of the queens, especially the first two, Pattani reached its greatest prosperity from maritime trade with Europe, Japan and around Southeast Asia. Prices for commodities, particularly foodstuffs, were at an all time low, pleasing the rich and poor under their reigns alike. Farmers were also recorded to have enjoyed irrigation projects initiated and supervised by the queens.
If they were just puppets, how did the three sisters succeed one another in a row? The youngest sister even managed to have her daughter become queen as well. They all survived several coup attempts amid a fluctuating political situation in the region. All the men who challenged their power were "dealt with" in different ways. Nobody knows what actually happened to them, but they were never seen again.
Reading between the lines, scattered historical accounts suggest the queens were capable rulers who knew how to play both internal and regional politics. In other words, the ancient kingdom of Pattani prospered "because of", and not "in spite of", the queens.
The three sisters - Ijau, Biru and Ungu - succeeded one another from 1584 to 1635. Their father named them after the colours of the rainbow - Ijau means green, Biru is blue and Ungu is violet. Whether the rainbow connotation was intended as a good omen, the princesses did have a shining future - they all made their way to the prestigious throne without much struggle.
Raja Ijau ruled for 31 years before she died, and passed the throne to her second sister Biru, who led the kingdom for seven years. The throne then passed to the third sister, Ungu, who reigned for 12 years.
Among them, Ungu was the only one married. Her sister Ijau made her the bride of Sultan Abdul-Ghafur Mohaidin Syah of Pahang, another influential kingdom on the Malay Peninsula. Princess Ungu gave birth to a charming daughter, Kuning, who succeeded her mother as the monarch. She reigned for about 50 years in what was one of the wealthiest and longest reigns for the region.
Perhaps Raja Ijau's understanding of regional politics was deeper than her ministers might have realised. She had Princess Ungu marry the sultan of Pahang, given the close connections between Pahang and Johore at the time, and also tightened relations with Johore, another strong political centre on the peninsula.
In retrospect, Raja Ijau turned to concentrate on strengthening relations with neighbouring kingdoms because Pattani became relatively independent from the influence of Ayutthaya, the powerful inland kingdom. Ayutthaya, from 1564 to the 1590s, was struggling for its own survival against Burma and Cambodia.
Secure politics entailed economic prosperity. Pattani itself was among the best natural harbours along the lengthy east coast of the Malay peninsula. The mid-sized kingdom enjoyed long-distance trade with China and India, as well as localised trade with Siam, Malaya and Indonesia. It served as an entrepot to which pepper could be brought from the neighbouring lands for Chinese merchants in return for luxury textiles and porcelain. At the same time Indian textiles were brought to Pattani in exchange for gold, spices and foodstuffs.
Raja Ungu knew her marriage to the sultan of Pahang was to secure political and economic prosperity for Pattani. Love was not a part of it. To her, the marriage was for the "love for her land". Her situation was not much different from other women of other kingdoms in the region in the same period. Their parents sent them as "gifts" for rulers of kingdoms they wanted to make friends with for their protection or other security purposes.
However, what was different for Ungu was that she returned to Pattani and became queen after Raja Biru passed away. Her daughter, Kuning, followed in her footstep decades later by marrying into politics and for the love of her motherland.
Raja Ijau died in 1616 and was succeeded by Raja Biru. It was Raja Biru who sent her ministers to Pahang to request the return of Queen Ungu after she became a widow when Sultan Abdul-Ghafur Mohaidin Syah died. Ungu also brought with her Princess Kuning, who was then four years old.
Princess Kuning was only 12-years-old when her monarch aunt Raja Biru arranged her marriage to a nobleman from Siam, Okya Decho, a son of the ruler of Ligor, or Nakhon Si Thammarat, who served the king of Ayutthaya. By the end of the 16th century, Ayutthaya's power was on the rise again during the reign of King Naresuan.
At the time, no one could read the heart of Princess Ungu, who watched her daughter's wedding in silence.
Soon after Raja Biru died, however, Raja Ungu, who succeeded her sister in 1624, arranged for her daughter to be remarried to the Sultan of Johore. Indeed, Pattani under the reign of Ungu adopted an anti-Siam policy. Unlike her two predecessors, Ungu refused to allow herself to be called by the Siamese royal title Phra Chao.
Perhaps, Okya Decho would not have asked to return to Nakhon Si Thammarat had he known he would not be allowed to take his young wife with him.
When informed of the new wedding of his wife, a furious Okya Decho asked for permission from the king of Siam to lead Siamese troops to attack Pattani. To aid her defence, Ungu received support from her late husband's state, Pahang, and the Sultan of Johore also led his troops to help his mother-in-law. The Siamese troops weren't familiar with sea warfare. The week-long war ended with the heart-broken Okya Decho returning home empty handed.
The love story of Princess Kuning didn't end there, but continued dramatically until her last breath. Raja Ungu died in 1635 and Kuning succeeded her mother to the Pattani throne. After the funeral ceremony, Kuning's husband left Pattani for his homeland. The sultan asked his younger brother and his mother to stay in Pattani to guard Kuning from her ex-husband Okya Decho.
But the sultan had left the fish with the cat. The prince of Johore went too far from the role of protector. The Malay historical account of Hikayat Pattani stated that the prince "violated" Kuning. However, the prince did not seem to have Kuning's heart for long. Raja Kuning found her lover had committed adultery with a court singer. The prince of Johore appeared to be madly in love with the singer whom he planned to give a royal title.
However, many ministers and the people took the queen's side. They volunteered to "deal" with the problem for her. Raja Kuning only asked her men to spare the prince's life. The prince was never seen in Pattani again. He safely returned to Johore while the prince's mother and their people were later escorted by the queen's men to their homeland as well.
No matter how chaotic her personal life, Raja Kuning never forgot her duty as the ruler of Pattani. During her reign, Pattani returned to the glorious era of international trade. The queen ordered her men to expand the mouth of the Pattani River and to dredge the river's tideway to welcome an increasing number of cargo barges. The bay of Pattani shone with lights from trader junks day and night. The Hikayat Pattani noted that the last queen didn't live on royal revenues, she made her income from the crops in her own gardens, feeding and clothing herself from the profits on the flowers and vegetables. Moreover, she turned her personal possessions into royal property.
Unlike her mother, who was hostile to Ayutthaya, Raja Kuning decided to make friends with the larger kingdom by paying a visit in 1641. The queen of Pattani was welcomed by King Prasat Thong of Siam. They re-established relations and Siam promised to end its interference in Pattani, at least during the reign of Raja Kuning.
A decade later, nonetheless, Kuning was forced to leave the throne by Raja Sakti of Kalantan who staged a coup in 1651 after she failed to handle the internal conflict between the sultan and another prince. On her way to seek refuge in Johore, the last queen of Pattani died near the shore of Kalantan. Her body was buried in a small village called Kampung Pancor.
The queen's laughter and tears and her "love for the land" was also buried there.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ayutthaya versus Pattani in the 'era of rebellion'
While many historians believe that Pattani had been a tributary state of Siam since time immemorial, and gradually incorporated to become an integral part of Siam, more-recently discovered journals of travellers and merchants of the era suggest otherwise.
The struggle to control Pattani was more than merely starting a few minor rebellions, as simplified in Thai chronicles. The resistance Pattani put up was determined, with residents of Pattani impassioned to defend the local Malay culture and determined to keep alive the historical ideal of an independent state of Pattani.
Jaramias van Vliet, the Dutch official of the Verenigde Oost-Indische Campagnie (VOC), or Dutch East Indies Company, who assumed a post at Ayutthaya in 1633, wrote about the Pattani rebellion during the earlier reign of King Maha Chakkrabat. He stated that Pattani had often sent tribute to Ayutthaya.
Later on, when King Prasartthong staged a coup and crowned himself in 1630, Raja Ungu, the ruler of Pattani, objected to paying tribute to the newly self-installed king. Apart from this affront to Ayutthaya, Pattani even sent troops to attack Phatthalung and Nakhon Si Thammarat, seized two vessels departing from Ayutthaya, and transported Chinese goods to Batavia.
In late 1633, Ayutthaya recruited troops to subjugate Pattani again, but had to delay the campaign for a year. In the middle of this intense atmosphere of war, the Raja of Kedah intervened and assisted in a reconciliation between the parties. King Prasartthong changed his mind and Ayutthaya sent a diplomatic mission to negotiate with Pattani again.
In March, 1636, during the reign of Raja Kuning, a Pattani diplomat came up to Ayutthaya. A preliminary agreement resulted in a "very important person" of Pattani coming up to the Ayutthaya court in August of the same year to pay a tribute of golden flowers to King Prasartthong. Pattani continued to pay tribute to Ayutthaya for several years. It is recorded as doing so in June 1639, while Kedah did her part in August of the same year. The situation, however, changed when Pattani joined Kedah and Songkhla to resist Ayutthaya during 1646-9. They even sent troops to attack and occupy Nakhon Si Thammarat for some time in 1649.
In late 1649, Ayutthaya sent troops to suppress the rebellion again. There is no detailed evidence about the battle, but it turned out that in September 1650, two ships of Songkhla brought a peace message with the usual golden flowers to pay homage to King Prasartthong.
Excerpt from a paper entitled "Ayutthaya in Pattani's Grasp: Historical Writings and Local History" presented by Davisakd Puaksom, Institute of Liberal Arts, Walailak University Nakhon Si Thammarat, at The First Inter-Dialogue Conference on Southern Thailand held in Pattani
If stories give life to a place, those of the four queens of Pattani recall laughter and tears, love and revenge that shaped a chatpter of the little known history of this Islamic maritime kingdom about sex centuries ago. Subhatra Bhumiprabhas and Natiya Tangwisutijit trace the facinating story of the queens
Nobody knows what Princess Ijau might have thought when she ascended the throne as the first queen of Pattani in 1584.
After the death of her father, Sultan Manzur Syah, in 1572, Ijau and her two younger sisters had to endure 12 traumatic years witnessing brothers and cousins killing one another in their battle for the throne. The conflict was resolved when all of the male heirs were assassinated, paving the way for Ijau's ascension.
Today's historians - and, indeed, ancient European traders and travellers who arrived in the Islamic kingdom - had different views about Pattani's century-long rule by women. Some opinions appear more favourable than others. But the predominant conclusion was that Queen Ijau and her sisters who succeeded to the throne were no more than puppet monarchs. Behind them must have been capable male ministers who governed in her name without the queens' actual participation.
French traveller Nicholas Gervaise, for example, wrote in the 1680s that Raja Ijau was not allowed to enter at all into the secrets of state affairs.
"[The queen] had to content herself with the respect and homage which everyone formally rendered her as their sovereign," Gervaise was quoted in "Hikayat Pattani", a classic Malay account of the history of this Islamic kingdom.
"They [the ministers] did not allow her the freedom to choose her own high officials, but they never refused her anything which could contribute to her pleasure," he wrote.
Such a view, however, could not properly explain why under the rule of the queens, especially the first two, Pattani reached its greatest prosperity from maritime trade with Europe, Japan and around Southeast Asia. Prices for commodities, particularly foodstuffs, were at an all time low, pleasing the rich and poor under their reigns alike. Farmers were also recorded to have enjoyed irrigation projects initiated and supervised by the queens.
If they were just puppets, how did the three sisters succeed one another in a row? The youngest sister even managed to have her daughter become queen as well. They all survived several coup attempts amid a fluctuating political situation in the region. All the men who challenged their power were "dealt with" in different ways. Nobody knows what actually happened to them, but they were never seen again.
Reading between the lines, scattered historical accounts suggest the queens were capable rulers who knew how to play both internal and regional politics. In other words, the ancient kingdom of Pattani prospered "because of", and not "in spite of", the queens.
The three sisters - Ijau, Biru and Ungu - succeeded one another from 1584 to 1635. Their father named them after the colours of the rainbow - Ijau means green, Biru is blue and Ungu is violet. Whether the rainbow connotation was intended as a good omen, the princesses did have a shining future - they all made their way to the prestigious throne without much struggle.
Raja Ijau ruled for 31 years before she died, and passed the throne to her second sister Biru, who led the kingdom for seven years. The throne then passed to the third sister, Ungu, who reigned for 12 years.
Among them, Ungu was the only one married. Her sister Ijau made her the bride of Sultan Abdul-Ghafur Mohaidin Syah of Pahang, another influential kingdom on the Malay Peninsula. Princess Ungu gave birth to a charming daughter, Kuning, who succeeded her mother as the monarch. She reigned for about 50 years in what was one of the wealthiest and longest reigns for the region.
Perhaps Raja Ijau's understanding of regional politics was deeper than her ministers might have realised. She had Princess Ungu marry the sultan of Pahang, given the close connections between Pahang and Johore at the time, and also tightened relations with Johore, another strong political centre on the peninsula.
In retrospect, Raja Ijau turned to concentrate on strengthening relations with neighbouring kingdoms because Pattani became relatively independent from the influence of Ayutthaya, the powerful inland kingdom. Ayutthaya, from 1564 to the 1590s, was struggling for its own survival against Burma and Cambodia.
Secure politics entailed economic prosperity. Pattani itself was among the best natural harbours along the lengthy east coast of the Malay peninsula. The mid-sized kingdom enjoyed long-distance trade with China and India, as well as localised trade with Siam, Malaya and Indonesia. It served as an entrepot to which pepper could be brought from the neighbouring lands for Chinese merchants in return for luxury textiles and porcelain. At the same time Indian textiles were brought to Pattani in exchange for gold, spices and foodstuffs.
Raja Ungu knew her marriage to the sultan of Pahang was to secure political and economic prosperity for Pattani. Love was not a part of it. To her, the marriage was for the "love for her land". Her situation was not much different from other women of other kingdoms in the region in the same period. Their parents sent them as "gifts" for rulers of kingdoms they wanted to make friends with for their protection or other security purposes.
However, what was different for Ungu was that she returned to Pattani and became queen after Raja Biru passed away. Her daughter, Kuning, followed in her footstep decades later by marrying into politics and for the love of her motherland.
Raja Ijau died in 1616 and was succeeded by Raja Biru. It was Raja Biru who sent her ministers to Pahang to request the return of Queen Ungu after she became a widow when Sultan Abdul-Ghafur Mohaidin Syah died. Ungu also brought with her Princess Kuning, who was then four years old.
Princess Kuning was only 12-years-old when her monarch aunt Raja Biru arranged her marriage to a nobleman from Siam, Okya Decho, a son of the ruler of Ligor, or Nakhon Si Thammarat, who served the king of Ayutthaya. By the end of the 16th century, Ayutthaya's power was on the rise again during the reign of King Naresuan.
At the time, no one could read the heart of Princess Ungu, who watched her daughter's wedding in silence.
Soon after Raja Biru died, however, Raja Ungu, who succeeded her sister in 1624, arranged for her daughter to be remarried to the Sultan of Johore. Indeed, Pattani under the reign of Ungu adopted an anti-Siam policy. Unlike her two predecessors, Ungu refused to allow herself to be called by the Siamese royal title Phra Chao.
Perhaps, Okya Decho would not have asked to return to Nakhon Si Thammarat had he known he would not be allowed to take his young wife with him.
When informed of the new wedding of his wife, a furious Okya Decho asked for permission from the king of Siam to lead Siamese troops to attack Pattani. To aid her defence, Ungu received support from her late husband's state, Pahang, and the Sultan of Johore also led his troops to help his mother-in-law. The Siamese troops weren't familiar with sea warfare. The week-long war ended with the heart-broken Okya Decho returning home empty handed.
The love story of Princess Kuning didn't end there, but continued dramatically until her last breath. Raja Ungu died in 1635 and Kuning succeeded her mother to the Pattani throne. After the funeral ceremony, Kuning's husband left Pattani for his homeland. The sultan asked his younger brother and his mother to stay in Pattani to guard Kuning from her ex-husband Okya Decho.
But the sultan had left the fish with the cat. The prince of Johore went too far from the role of protector. The Malay historical account of Hikayat Pattani stated that the prince "violated" Kuning. However, the prince did not seem to have Kuning's heart for long. Raja Kuning found her lover had committed adultery with a court singer. The prince of Johore appeared to be madly in love with the singer whom he planned to give a royal title.
However, many ministers and the people took the queen's side. They volunteered to "deal" with the problem for her. Raja Kuning only asked her men to spare the prince's life. The prince was never seen in Pattani again. He safely returned to Johore while the prince's mother and their people were later escorted by the queen's men to their homeland as well.
No matter how chaotic her personal life, Raja Kuning never forgot her duty as the ruler of Pattani. During her reign, Pattani returned to the glorious era of international trade. The queen ordered her men to expand the mouth of the Pattani River and to dredge the river's tideway to welcome an increasing number of cargo barges. The bay of Pattani shone with lights from trader junks day and night. The Hikayat Pattani noted that the last queen didn't live on royal revenues, she made her income from the crops in her own gardens, feeding and clothing herself from the profits on the flowers and vegetables. Moreover, she turned her personal possessions into royal property.
Unlike her mother, who was hostile to Ayutthaya, Raja Kuning decided to make friends with the larger kingdom by paying a visit in 1641. The queen of Pattani was welcomed by King Prasat Thong of Siam. They re-established relations and Siam promised to end its interference in Pattani, at least during the reign of Raja Kuning.
A decade later, nonetheless, Kuning was forced to leave the throne by Raja Sakti of Kalantan who staged a coup in 1651 after she failed to handle the internal conflict between the sultan and another prince. On her way to seek refuge in Johore, the last queen of Pattani died near the shore of Kalantan. Her body was buried in a small village called Kampung Pancor.
The queen's laughter and tears and her "love for the land" was also buried there.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ayutthaya versus Pattani in the 'era of rebellion'
While many historians believe that Pattani had been a tributary state of Siam since time immemorial, and gradually incorporated to become an integral part of Siam, more-recently discovered journals of travellers and merchants of the era suggest otherwise.
The struggle to control Pattani was more than merely starting a few minor rebellions, as simplified in Thai chronicles. The resistance Pattani put up was determined, with residents of Pattani impassioned to defend the local Malay culture and determined to keep alive the historical ideal of an independent state of Pattani.
Jaramias van Vliet, the Dutch official of the Verenigde Oost-Indische Campagnie (VOC), or Dutch East Indies Company, who assumed a post at Ayutthaya in 1633, wrote about the Pattani rebellion during the earlier reign of King Maha Chakkrabat. He stated that Pattani had often sent tribute to Ayutthaya.
Later on, when King Prasartthong staged a coup and crowned himself in 1630, Raja Ungu, the ruler of Pattani, objected to paying tribute to the newly self-installed king. Apart from this affront to Ayutthaya, Pattani even sent troops to attack Phatthalung and Nakhon Si Thammarat, seized two vessels departing from Ayutthaya, and transported Chinese goods to Batavia.
In late 1633, Ayutthaya recruited troops to subjugate Pattani again, but had to delay the campaign for a year. In the middle of this intense atmosphere of war, the Raja of Kedah intervened and assisted in a reconciliation between the parties. King Prasartthong changed his mind and Ayutthaya sent a diplomatic mission to negotiate with Pattani again.
In March, 1636, during the reign of Raja Kuning, a Pattani diplomat came up to Ayutthaya. A preliminary agreement resulted in a "very important person" of Pattani coming up to the Ayutthaya court in August of the same year to pay a tribute of golden flowers to King Prasartthong. Pattani continued to pay tribute to Ayutthaya for several years. It is recorded as doing so in June 1639, while Kedah did her part in August of the same year. The situation, however, changed when Pattani joined Kedah and Songkhla to resist Ayutthaya during 1646-9. They even sent troops to attack and occupy Nakhon Si Thammarat for some time in 1649.
In late 1649, Ayutthaya sent troops to suppress the rebellion again. There is no detailed evidence about the battle, but it turned out that in September 1650, two ships of Songkhla brought a peace message with the usual golden flowers to pay homage to King Prasartthong.
Excerpt from a paper entitled "Ayutthaya in Pattani's Grasp: Historical Writings and Local History" presented by Davisakd Puaksom, Institute of Liberal Arts, Walailak University Nakhon Si Thammarat, at The First Inter-Dialogue Conference on Southern Thailand held in Pattani
Pattani
Pattani
Related: Thailand Geography
(both: pät´tänē´) or Patani , city (1990 pop. 41,605), capital of Pattani prov., S Thailand, on the east coast of the Malay Peninsula, near the mouth of the Gulf of Thailand. It is a port and the center of a region producing most of the spices grown in Thailand, as well as rubber and coconuts. Tin is mined and smelted, salt is extracted, and nests for bird's-nest soup are harvested. The people are for the most part Malay Muslims. Pattani was a seat of the Sailendra power during the Sailendra domination of the Malay Peninsula and later was the center of a Malay state, which was drawn into the Thai orbit. With Ayutthaya , it was one of the first places in Siam opened to the Portuguese in the 16th cent. At first bound only by tenuous links of suzerainty to the courts of Ayutthaya and Bangkok, against which it was several times in revolt, Pattani was reduced to provincial status in the 19th cent.
Related: Thailand Geography
(both: pät´tänē´) or Patani , city (1990 pop. 41,605), capital of Pattani prov., S Thailand, on the east coast of the Malay Peninsula, near the mouth of the Gulf of Thailand. It is a port and the center of a region producing most of the spices grown in Thailand, as well as rubber and coconuts. Tin is mined and smelted, salt is extracted, and nests for bird's-nest soup are harvested. The people are for the most part Malay Muslims. Pattani was a seat of the Sailendra power during the Sailendra domination of the Malay Peninsula and later was the center of a Malay state, which was drawn into the Thai orbit. With Ayutthaya , it was one of the first places in Siam opened to the Portuguese in the 16th cent. At first bound only by tenuous links of suzerainty to the courts of Ayutthaya and Bangkok, against which it was several times in revolt, Pattani was reduced to provincial status in the 19th cent.
Pattani
Pattani Malay
A minority majority
Although the Pattani Malay make up only four percent of Thailand's population, they are the majority population within the five southernmost provinces of the country.
In addition to their location, the Pattani Malay are separate from the rest of Thailand in a number of ways. They are Malay in their race, heritage, language and culture. While Thailand is 94 percent Buddhist, almost all of the Pattani Malay are Muslim.
Traditional Pattani wear clothing which reflects their Muslim tradition. The majority speak Jawi, a Malay dialect.
The Pattani were a Malay people with a powerful kingdom that was overtaken by the Thai. They understand themselves to be a different people living under the Thai kingdom. Pattani often intermarry with the Malay across the Malaysian border rather than with the Thai.
The mosque and the community
The mosque and Muslim festivals and observance play an integral part in the life of the Pattani Malay people. The mosque is a place not only for religious practices, but also the place where cultural identity is expressed. It provides education and is at the center of community celebrations in these fishing and farming communities.
As a leader of the mosque, the Imam is often regarded as the leader of the village or community. Because there is a level of distrust of some Thai governmental authorities, who are Buddhist and speak only Thai, many of the Pattani turn to the mosque and Muslim religious and community leaders to provide a channel for voicing their concerns.
Another important figure in Pattani religious life is the "bomoh." The bomoh is a folk healer that acts as a mediator or median between the spirit world and the earthly world. He provides fortune telling as well.
Despite their resistance to the Thai language and culture, the Pattani have adopted the Thai belief in "phi's" or ghosts. So in reality, the Pattani practice a blend of Islam, folk and animist beliefs.
Population: +\- 2 to 3 million
Religion: Sunni Muslim
Language: Malay dialect; Thai
Geographical location/s: Five southern provinces of Thailand; substantive community in Bangkok, Thailand
Percentage evangelized (access to the gospel): 25 percent
Profile: Tradition: gone with the tide
One of the Pattani Malay's more colorful traditions, the "kolae" fishing boats are becoming more and more rare along the coast of southern Thailand. The kolae are striking because of the intricate paintings that grace the side of these long wooden boats. Beautifully carved and painted, most kolae display the image of the naga, a powerful mythical creature of the sea.
Built to last, these hand-crafted vessels are usually passed down from father to son. Many fishermen try to continue the tradition by refurbishing old kolae, because it is so expensive to buy a new one. There are only a few craftsmen left who make and paint the trawlers.
A minority majority
Although the Pattani Malay make up only four percent of Thailand's population, they are the majority population within the five southernmost provinces of the country.
In addition to their location, the Pattani Malay are separate from the rest of Thailand in a number of ways. They are Malay in their race, heritage, language and culture. While Thailand is 94 percent Buddhist, almost all of the Pattani Malay are Muslim.
Traditional Pattani wear clothing which reflects their Muslim tradition. The majority speak Jawi, a Malay dialect.
The Pattani were a Malay people with a powerful kingdom that was overtaken by the Thai. They understand themselves to be a different people living under the Thai kingdom. Pattani often intermarry with the Malay across the Malaysian border rather than with the Thai.
The mosque and the community
The mosque and Muslim festivals and observance play an integral part in the life of the Pattani Malay people. The mosque is a place not only for religious practices, but also the place where cultural identity is expressed. It provides education and is at the center of community celebrations in these fishing and farming communities.
As a leader of the mosque, the Imam is often regarded as the leader of the village or community. Because there is a level of distrust of some Thai governmental authorities, who are Buddhist and speak only Thai, many of the Pattani turn to the mosque and Muslim religious and community leaders to provide a channel for voicing their concerns.
Another important figure in Pattani religious life is the "bomoh." The bomoh is a folk healer that acts as a mediator or median between the spirit world and the earthly world. He provides fortune telling as well.
Despite their resistance to the Thai language and culture, the Pattani have adopted the Thai belief in "phi's" or ghosts. So in reality, the Pattani practice a blend of Islam, folk and animist beliefs.
Population: +\- 2 to 3 million
Religion: Sunni Muslim
Language: Malay dialect; Thai
Geographical location/s: Five southern provinces of Thailand; substantive community in Bangkok, Thailand
Percentage evangelized (access to the gospel): 25 percent
Profile: Tradition: gone with the tide
One of the Pattani Malay's more colorful traditions, the "kolae" fishing boats are becoming more and more rare along the coast of southern Thailand. The kolae are striking because of the intricate paintings that grace the side of these long wooden boats. Beautifully carved and painted, most kolae display the image of the naga, a powerful mythical creature of the sea.
Built to last, these hand-crafted vessels are usually passed down from father to son. Many fishermen try to continue the tradition by refurbishing old kolae, because it is so expensive to buy a new one. There are only a few craftsmen left who make and paint the trawlers.
Bloody River - Tak Bai, Yala, Pattani
So they shot more people yesterday in Tak Bai. What do we do as Malaysians?
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