KUCHING: A new
milestone was reached for the Dayak music industry following the win by Iban
singer Melissa Francis in one of the categories of the just concluded Anugerah
Bintang Popular Berita Harian in Kuala Lumpur.
Dayak Arts and
Culture Enthusiasts Association (PPSKDK) president Mervyn Tajem said this will
pave the way for more Dayak artistes and musicians to push themselves and go
for national and international accolades.
“As a young
artiste, Melissa Francis has done well to not only boost her name further but
also to promote our Dayak music industry as a whole.
“It is our hope
that more Dayak artistes be recognised for other achievements in the future. We
do have very talented singers, song writers and musicians. The next aim is to
break through the barriers so that their work will be more exposed and
recognised by other music industry especially the Malay music industry in
Malaysia,” Mervyn said.
The surprise
victory by Melissa was hailed by Sarawakians who shared the achievement through
the social media. However, there were also those who lamented the lack of
spotlight accorded by the national media on her.
The 26-year-old
lass, through her Facebook page, expressed her gratitude to her fans for voting
her to victory and she thanked them for their continuous support throughout her
singing career.
On another matter,
Mervyn also commended the feat achieved by another Iban singer Gabriel Fairuz
Louis who was selected to represent Malaysia for the XXII Discovery
International Pop Music Festival in Varna, Bulgaria from May 17 to 19.
He said Gabriel,
who comes from Durin, Sibu, is another home grown talent who has made the Iban
and Dayaks proud. He added he was excited by the prospect of Gabriel singing
his Iban song ‘Pechaya’ at the international stage.
“He will be the
first Iban representing the country in this competition and to be given the
opportunity like this tells us that our artistes and songs are getting more
accepted. Now, the international audience can get to hear an Iban song. We wish
him well and hope that he will do his best to win the categories that he is
nominated in,” said Mervyn.
He also informed
that PPSKDK will be organising the second Iban Classic Song competition again
towards the end of the year.
The first was
organised last year. The competition aims to unearth new talents and to promote
classic Iban songs.
Source: Borneo Post (10 April 2013)
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