Kind Words from Dr Halim, Ansara Exco Member , on Ghazal Party Queen

10th February 2010

Assalamualaikum,

To members of the Killerbatch (’79-’83) of Ansara Kulim,

Congratulations to members of the Killerbatch of Ansara Kulim for having very successfully staged the ‘Ghazal Party Queen’ (GPQ) at the Taman Budaya, Kuala Lumpur , on the 5th, 6th ,7th and 8th February 2010.

The Ghazal Party Queen is definitely one of the most enjoyable Malay theatre that I have been to.

Over the last 15 years or so, I have been to most of the Malay theatre and Malay bangsawans staged at the Istana Budaya (IB) and Dewan Filharmonik Petronas (DFP). Tun Fatimah, Hang Li Po, Simfoni Ghazal, Mahsuri, Wayang Kulit backed by the Orchestra, Raja Tangkai Hati, Awang Sulung Merah Muda, Puteri Gunung Ledang were some of the many Malay theatres that I went to. The most recent one that I went to, last month, was the Istana Budaya’s ‘Makyong – Anak Raja Dua Serupa’.

Most of them were good, some very good, a few were excellent. Sincerely, your Ghazal Party Queen deserves to be in the category of ‘very good’, meaning it is better than some that were staged at Istana Budaya and definitely better than most that were staged at Dewan Filharmonik Petronas.

The acting by members of the Ghazal Party Queen were so very natural and very professional, almost flawless, to the point that the whole acting appeared to be almost spontaneous throughout. The story and the jokes were well thought out, very well presented and well executed which made the whole play most enjoyable, hilarious and most entertaining. It was obvious that most of the audiences thoroughly enjoyed the show.

It is no wonder that the Ghazal Party Queen won the BOH Cameronian Awards for Best Original Script 2004 which was written by Mohd Rodzi Abdullah who is member of the Killerbatch and directed by Esnani Elias who is a member of Ansara Seremban.

The acting by members of the Killerbatch and their associates were so good that they seemed to have been able to make the audiences feel the emotion of sadness and dissappointment of Pak Teh when he had to dance in front of his love Kamariah during her wedding to his best friend Din. The participation of Aishah and the Fan Club truly made the whole show even more livelier. The acting of the character Munah was excellent and most memorable. The audiences also seemed to have been able to feel that they are a part of the fun and enjoyment of the whole play, a rare feat indeed.

But more importantly, you all seemed to have enjoyed yourselves very much while on stage despite the fact that many of you had to spent, I was told, 3 times a week over 3 month period to plan, practise and rehearse the staging of the Ghazal Party Queen. This is the level of commitment and sacrifice that deserves much respect and acknowledgement by all Ansarians.

The Ghazal Party Queen is a huge success in its own right, but your Asrama Donni Project for which the GPQ was intended is an even bigger success. Your success in raising more than RM 240,000.00 and the almost complete Asrama Donni to help the poor and needy students in Sabah deserves a lot of respect, acknowledgement and attention of Ansarians from all Ansara chapters.

With the success of the Ghazal Party Queen, it is very important that the Killerbatch constantly updates Ansara on the progress of the Asrama Donni project in the hope that it will encourage and inspire Ansarians from other Ansara chapters to initiate their own community projects and emulate the commitments, sacrifice and success of the Killerbatch. This is one of Ansara’s many ways of contributing back to society.

As long as Asrama Donni stands, the poor people of Kiulu Sabah will always be grateful to members of the Killerbatch. Your children and grandchildren will always be proud of your efforts and contributions to the poor people of Sabah.

Congratulations and Syabas to the Killerbatch, you certainly have made Ansara proud.

Wassalam

Sincerely,

Dr Halim Abu Bakar,

Ansara Seremban Pioneer Batch (’72-’76),