Chai (second left) and Jimmy on her right join other guests in the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
KUCHING (Nov 18): Four artistes under the management of Wavemix Production (WMP) Sdn Bhd unveiled their latest singles here yesterday.
The line-up included Nai Dinamik with his track ‘Berbagi Hati’, Stan Akai Dai & D’Big Jamm presenting ‘Merelakanmu’, Winnie Albert’s ‘Aku Ukai Lulung’, and Zulq introducing ‘Setia Menanti’.
The ceremony, which took place at Plaza Merdeka here, was attended by the principal assistant secretary (arts, culture and heritage) Dr Elena Gregoria Chai, who represented Deputy Minister II forTourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Sarawak Datuk Snowdan Lawan at the event.
In her speech, Dr Elena outlined the ministry’s commitment to supporting those in the local creative industry, citing the ‘Dana Mudahcara Warisan, Seni dan Budaya’ as one of the grants available for application.
“We have four grants under our ministry, and one of them is the ‘Dana Mudahcara Warisan, Seni dan Budaya’, where we provide financial support, including for singing performances, karaoke competitions, dance competitions, calligraphy, and more.
“With this fund, we can organise and run capacity-building programmes to teach the young ones; for example, techniques for playing music and other creative arts.
“We want to see our creative industry continuing to evolve, and our ministry would always provide the appropriate support to the arts activists in Sarawak – all you have to do is apply, which can be done via our website,” she said in her remarks.
On the event, Chai congratulated WMP director Jimmy Pelikat for his efforts in unearthing and promoting local talents.
“We want to see more local singers given the opportunity to perform on stage. Events like this should be expanded to provide a platform for artistes to showcase their talents,” she added.
Meanwhile, Jimmy expressed gratitude for the ministry’s support and it addressing the challenges faced by production companies in Sarawak.
“Our objective today is to inform the ministry that many production companies in Sarawak can contribute to helping more local singers reach a higher level.
“We aim to compete with production houses in Peninsular Malaysia and elevate the status of Sarawak’s music industry.
“We want to bring back legendary singers like Nai Dinamik, Winnie Albert and Stan Akai Dai, and introduce new talents like Zulq,” he said.
The event was made merrier with performances by the established artistes as well as emerging talents from Betong Food & Art Festival (BeFA) Idol and Winnie Albert Idol.
Mall visitors were also treated to pre-screenings of music videos from the newly-launched singles.