Memory of Sudirman Hj Arshad - The Singing Lawyer

Dato' Sudirman Hj Arshad DIMP, JMN, AMN (25 May 1954 - 22 February 1992)

• Malaysian singer and a lawyer
• He was known as the 'Singing Lawyer', the 'People's Singer' and the 'Elvis of Malaysia'
• He was born on 25 May 1954 in Temerloh, Pahang
• youngest child of 6 children
• He was born to Hj Arshad Hassan and Ramlah Dahlan (the first stateswoman in Pahang during the 1950s)
• His passion for singing and entertaining started at a very young age at which during that time his brothers, sisters and neighbors would happily let him entertain them.
• After turning down a scholarship to further his studies in Science, he studied Law instead, and received his degree from the University of Malaya.
• He was called to the Bar and became a practising lawyer.
• He married Kamariah Jamaluddin in 1981 but divorced her 3 years later.
• He was named 'Malaysia's Singing Ambassador' by Malaysia Tourism Development Board (MTDC)
• He was the voice behind the MTDC (Malaysian Tourism Development Corp) tune, To know Malaysia is to love Malaysia which was composed by American Emmy, Grammy and Oscar nominated singer and songwriter Carol Connors.
• He was referred to as the 'Singing Dynamite' by Singaporean journalists.
• His singing brought him standing ovations in Australia (in Sydney and Melbourne), Japan, Kuwait, and Hawaii including the United States.
• He won many local competitions from Bintang RTM Best Singer (1976) to Muzik-Muzik TV3 Best Performer and Berita Harian Popularity contest Most Popular Artist.
• He topped Malaysian, Brunei and Indonesia charts with songs such as "Merisik Khabar", "Milik Siapakah Gadis Ini" and "Sampaikan Salam"
• Songwriters who have supported him in the past include S. Atan, Manan Ngah, Michael Veerapan and Syed Harun. Even today, his songs are popularly played especially during National Day and Eid Fitr.
• Sudirman was also the first Malaysian singer to perform at The Paddock at the Hilton of Kuala Lumpur in 1983.
• He was the singing ambassador for companies such as Proton, Malaysia Airlines, Honda Cup and honored pioneer card member with Hong Leong Bank.
• He was known for his versatility and sang Malay, Indian and Chinese songs with outstanding choreography.
• He was even known to have sketched the portrait of a fan while singing.
• Sudirman produced an album for his favourite nephew, Razman Azrai, under Sudirman Productions. Also known as Atai, he had a couple of hit songs that topped the charts in 1985.
• In April 1983, Sudirman sang a song for the late Puan Sri Saloma titled "Mama". When Sudirman approached her shortly before her death, Saloma didn't believe him that he wanted to make a song about her.
• In 15 April 1986, Sudirman held an open air concert on Chow Kit Road, which was the first time ever that a street concert drew a 100,000-strong crowd on a Monday night. It jammed the stretch of Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, Jalan Raja Muda to Jalan Raja Alang.
• A Malaysian English tabloid, The Star, wrote that "Kuala Lumpur came to a standstill and it had nothing to do with the recession, but with one man, Malaysia's top entertainer, an electrifying performance and most memorable night".
• In 1989, Sudirman won the title "Best Performer" at the Asia Music Award 1989 contest at the Royal Albert Hall, London. There, Leslie Cheung (Hong Kong), Anita Sarawak (Singapore), Epo (Japan), Kuh Ledesma (Philippines) and many other singers represented their respective countries.
• As Sudirman was known by many as "Malaysia's No 1 Entertainer", he was chosen to perform for Malaysia's SEA Games closing ceremony in 1989 and many others such as the opening ceremony of Sepak Takraw competition, Merdeka, New Year and other national functions. In most cases, he would use his own money to ensure a successful concert.
• Sudirman also had a strong fanbase in Singapore, as evidenced from a large turnout during his concert at the Kallang National Stadium in August 1987. People came from all classes, races and ages. Kelvin Tan Look Siew, Director of Singapore Armed Forces Music & Drama company, said, "We wanted to bring down a prominent artist from the region and Sudirman's name automatically cropped up."
• EMI London took him on to work together with Stock, Aitken & Waterman (British producer trio who took on Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan and Rick Astley) for the world market with a song titled "Love will Find a Way". He was brought to The Beatles famous Abbey Road Studios and recorded the album, but died soon afterwards.
• Sudirman wrote his autobiography Dari Dalam Sudir in addition to some cartoons and weekly columns for magazines and some local newspapers such as Karangkraf.
• One of his books for children was recognized the best by Mobil-Mabopa, a Mobil Oil book writing competition.
• Moreover,

-->he was also a journalist writer and columnist, who wrote on various serious issues. One journalist puts it, "It was quite difficult for us to concentrate on our job. The person sitting across the table during the meeting is a celebrity!" Those he interviewed include Tun Ghaffar Baba.

Besides singing and writing, Sudirman also acted in a film called Kami,which was released in 1982. It was about two destitute orphans who find each other amidst the Kuala Lumpur street life. This film also spawned a track, "Pelangi Petang" (Malay meaning "Evening Rainbow"), which has been heralded as an iconic song by Malaysia's music industry.

Sudirman also successfully hosted Malaysia's TV gameshow "Keluarga Bahagia Singer". This program was sponsored by a home appliance company then called SINGER.

Sudirman was also well known for his charity work with which he helped invite veteran artists in the slots of his singing shows aside from giving them generous donations. Money charity for mosques and people in need was something he would do willingly. During his life, he had also adopted and brought up an Indian boy from a poor family and he would actively seek charity work through the PAPITA (Malaysian Singer Association).

Moreover,Sudirman also became Malaysia's first successful singer entrepreneur promoting Malaysia's most famous carbonated drink Sudi with business magazines and TV programs from Australia to Hong Kong featuring the drinks. Within six months, Sudi broke five per cent of the carbonated drink market. Later, Sudirman opened a franchise of Sudi Shoppe apparel and a Sudi restaurant.

He was Malaysia's first singer to be on the cover of Malaysian Business and Asian Business magazine. He had a business office atop the UBN Shangrila Tower and Sri Hartamas. He also served as Vice President of the Singers, Musicians and Composers Association of Malaysia (PAPITA).

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• While singing at Butterworth, Sudirman suffered a stroke and collapsed on stage. His sister and Mohd Radzi Sheikh Ahmad (then lawyer, later Minister of Home Affairs) announced that Sudirman's stroke was the result of a cerebrovascular disease. He died at 4 a.m. on 22 February 1992 at the age of 37 in his sister’s (Datin Radiah) house in Kuala Lumpur.
• Hundreds took part in his funeral procession. First, his remains were sent to his hometown in Temerloh, Pahang. Later, he was laid to rest at Chengal Muslim Cemetery, Temerloh, near the graves of his parents.
• Sudirman Arshad was named 'Malaysia's Singing Ambassador' by the Malaysia Tourism Development Board (MTDC). He was the voice behind the MTDC (Malaysian Tourism Development Corp) tune, To know Malaysia is to love Malaysia which was composed by American Emmy, Grammy and Oscar nominated singer and songwriter Carol Connors. He was referred to as the 'Singing Dynamite' by Singaporean journalists. His singing brought him standing ovations in Australia (in Sydney and Melbourne), Japan, Kuwait and Hawaii including the United States. Simon Napier-Bell, the manager for George Michael's band Wham!, referred to Sudirman Arshad as the 'institution of Malaysian music industry'.
• Sudirman's work was recognized by the industry when he was posthumously awarded an Anugerah Industri Muzik award and a street was named after him in his hometown of Temerloh. PAPITA created an award especially categorized under his name, which to this date has yet to be won by anyone.
• In the Malaysia Book of Records, Sudirman Arshad was given a posthumous award together with P Ramlee, Mokhtar Dahari, Tun Ghafar Baba and Ramasamy Letchemanah (Mighty Man).
• Among his songs are Tanggal 31 Ogos and Tegakkan Bendera Kita.
• Local musicians who have played for him include Alex Boon, Jay Jay (singer guitarist), Hillary, Mac Chiew and Jenny Chin. Local women who have performed with him as his dancers (whom he refers to as "The Girls") include Joanne (Zainal Abidin's wife), supermodel Samantha Schubert and Linda Jasmine Hashim (now one of the leading dancing choreographer cum teacher in Malaysia's reality TV program show Akademi Fantasia).
• Some Muslim fundamentalists and leftists detested his concert performances. Some even threatened and distributed warning pamphlets of "something would happen" during his Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Bangi concert to deter people from attending. The concert was postponed following protests from the UKM students union body, its academic staff association and the dean of the Islamic Studies faculty and six other student bodies. This incident was captured by Zainuddin Maidin (then journalist, now former Minister of Information) in his book "The Other Side of Mahathir". He narrated that the then-Prime Minister had called a few ministers to his residence to review the situation as the issue reflected Malaysia's position in terms of modernization. The meeting led to the conclusion that the show had to be allowed to go on. Sudirman's fans turned up in the concert hall. He went about pleasing the crowd, crooning his hits. One campus resident said, "At last something alive has come here." The negativity surrounding the UKM incident was not long-lasting. The irony of it is that, a couple of years after Sudirman's death in 1992, UKM held a Sudirman karaoke competition.
• However, Sudirman Arshad has somewhat been controversial. In April 2006, the Malaysian member of parliament from Sri Gading, Datuk Mohamed Aziz, commented that he regarded Sudirman as a "mediocre singer" and that he "could not even take on the member of parliament himself."

The moral of story is "Be who u wanna be and not what others wanna see"....I am sure God knows us well than the rest of other people...we can't make everybody likes us...but with our sincere personality, image, identity...people who got "brain" will notified and appreciate the joy that we bring to this world....as long as u know WHO U ARE...BELIEVE IT!

Allahyarham Sudirman had live well...I know if he live until today...he will come up with lots of idea in music industry....he did what he wanna do...he is a WINNER...he is a lawyer and an entertainer.

People always get wrong when someone different from them....somebody who had a different view of life...all the talent that Sudirman had was a gift from God. Even if someone had a bad relationship or did't get married at all but success in career...that didn't make someone a failure. People have a CHOICE. If they can't find someone to share their interest and life....it's OKAY! We are not alone as long as we believe in God and ourselves.

People should not judge someone by it's outlook appearance....that's why they said,"Don't judge a book by its cover", YES....outlook appearance is first impresion but for how long the appearance can hold the inside quality...FAITH or IMAN is the most important....we are human beings...nobody perfect! That's why God give us brain to think and choose between right and wrong...WORLD will be better if we can rid off the PREJUDICISM...

Although I was just a kid at that time...Sudirman is one of my Idol. May Allah (God) bless him forever. 22 February 2010 is his 18th Anniversary of his lost.....to all non Muslim fans who know him...give him a respect & pray in your own way...to all Muslim fans....Al-Fatihah....

Kubur Allahyarham Sudirman
di Kg. Paya Kechik Temerloh...

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SALAM TERAKHIR - SUDIRMAN

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