00:00 [VIDEO PLAYBACK]
00:28 - He shot to national fame as the winner of Bintang RTM in
00:31 1976 and reached worldwide fame as Asia's number one
00:35 performer in 1989.
00:38 In the intervening years, pint-sized singing lawyer
00:41 Sudirman Arshad enchanted audiences with his searing
00:44 voice, captivating charisma, quick wit, snazzy dressing, and
00:48 flamboyant stage presence, making himself the country's
00:52 undisputed number one entertainer of his generation.
00:56 A national icon, he thrilled a throng of adoring Malaysians
00:59 at a mega open-air concert on Jalan Chowkit in 1986 by
01:04 appearing in a Jalur Gemilang shirt.
01:07 But behind the glittering facade was a man plagued by
01:10 the fear of fading into obscurity and dying penniless.
01:14 Already mired in debt and having fallen out with
01:17 longtime manager Mike Bernie Chin, Sudirman turned to his
01:20 22-year-old sound engineer on April Fool's Day in 1987 with
01:25 an unexpected proposition.
01:27 "Hi Dan, this is Sudi."
01:29 "Sorry, who?"
01:31 "Sudirman."
01:33 "Eh, is it really?"
01:35 "Yeah, after a while, I composed."
01:38 "Yeah bro, what can I do for you?"
01:42 "Can we meet on the 15th of April in person at
01:45 Sri Chiang Mai restaurant behind Ekotoro Hotel?"
01:47 Thai food was his favourite.
01:49 I said, "Yeah, but what are we going to meet for?"
01:52 "No, I'm thinking of asking you if you will consider managing me."
02:01 These were his exact words.
02:04 My jaw dropped.
02:07 I didn't know how to answer immediately.
02:10 Despite his initial hesitations,
02:12 Daniel Daurani agreed to take on the role.
02:15 As it turned out, Sudirman made only one request of his
02:18 newly appointed manager.
02:20 He said, "Do me a favour.
02:22 I'm in debt now.
02:25 I don't want to ever die in poverty or in debt.
02:29 Please make sure of that."
02:31 I said, "What do you mean?"
02:32 He said, "No.
02:34 I don't want to go like P Ramlee and Saloma.
02:37 I cannot take it.
02:39 They are never honoured, they are never remembered.
02:43 Nobody bothers about what they've done till today."
02:47 Barely two years later, Sudirman would soar to new heights,
02:50 clinching the title of Asia's Best Performer
02:52 at London's prestigious Royal Albert Hall,
02:55 triumphing over regional heavyweights
02:57 Anita Sarawak, Kulay Desma and Leslie Cheung.
03:02 With sold-out venues nationwide
03:04 and his own line of drinks and apparel,
03:05 Sudirman seemed unstoppable.
03:09 His estate at that time, when he was owning the factory
03:11 with the drinks and the apparel and his brand name
03:14 and it shows 300 million RM in 1990, we did.
03:20 Dharani said they even dreamed of setting up a talent academy
03:23 to nurture future stars.
03:25 But Sudirman's sudden passing in 1992
03:28 put an abrupt end to the plans.
03:31 Today, a disheartened Dharani says,
03:33 Sudirman's fears have become a reality.
03:37 The nation has forgotten its one-time megastar.
03:41 Bluntly, they don't even care who he is or who he was.
03:44 I mean, if we cared, there would be museums,
03:48 libraries of this information on what this person achieved.
03:53 There'd be websites, artists,
03:55 what they have done from the time he started.
03:59 In Malaysia these days, few remember him.
04:02 But at FMT today, exactly 32 years after his sad demise,
04:06 we remember and honour Malaysia's entertainer extraordinaire,
04:11 Sudirman Arshad.
04:12 # To love each other every day
04:15 # For the boy and the old man
04:18 # For the mother and the child
04:22 # One thousand million smiles. #
04:33 (upbeat music)
Comments