KUCHING: The heat is on, and the 18 finalists for the long-awaited National P Ramlee Star Finals 2014 are here for the final preparations.
(seated, L-R) Yusni, Jamel, Faridah and Zainorin, together with the finalists of Bintang P Ramlee Kebangsaan 2014.
The national level final will be held at Stadium Perpaduan Petra Jaya this Sunday (Oct 12) at 9pm
Producer Mohd Yusni Mohd Ali said their challenge now is their packed schedule as they coordinate stage setup, training and rehearsals leading to the big night.
“The training will be very intensive. I advise everyone to use the time we have left wisely,” he said, during a press conference at The Banquet yesterday.
Contestants have to go through two levels of performances; solo and a duet, Yusni explained.
“In previous years, they performed their duet immediately after their solo, but this time we separate it into two parts,” he said.
RTM started auditioning hopefuls in April, covering 32 locations across Sarawak.
Although the finalists are all Malays, secretariat head Zainorin Suud said they
welcome all races, and even had a Chinese male contestant from Serian who made it to the state-level finals.
“Unfortunately, he didn’t make it to national level. In future we would like to see more non-Malays auditioning for the competition,” Zainorin said, adding that the contestants they are seeking should be aged between 18 and 45.
Although named ‘national’, organisers extended the invitation to neighbouring regions and received participation from Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia and Singapore.
Brunei Darussalam and West Kalimantan, Indonesia were invited for the first time in 2008, while Singapore joined in 2010.
In Malaysia, contestants are from Malacca, Perlis, Johor, Pahang, Sarawak, and Sabah.
The performers will be accompanied by D Aspirasi RTM Kuching, led by Eugene Clifford Suboh.
Prizes for the national level competition consist of RM20,000 (RM13,000 for male and RM7,000 for female), Canon DSLR cameras and smart phones for the winning pair. The runner ups will get RM15,000 (RM10,000/RM5,000) while the third placed winners will receive RM10,000 (RM6,000/RM4,000).
There will be a consolation prize of RM3,000 for the solo performer while the pair with the best performance will receive RM4,000.
In addition to the cash prizes, winners will also receive trophies and certificates.
The national final will be broadcast live on TV2 at 9pm while the Red Carpet event will be aired through TVi interactive channel from 7.30pm to 8.00pm.
There will also be a radio broadcast via SARAWAKfm and Radio Online, accessible through rtmsarawak.gov.my.
Popular artistes, Ning Baizura, Misha Omar, Nasir Wahab, Azahel (AF2013) and violinist Nisa Addina will also be performing.
Also present at the press conference were Sarawak Zone Broadcasting deputy director Jamel Seman and Radio Section assistant deputy director Faridah Sulong.