On the busy sidewalk in front of a popular mall in Kuching, a young “cowboy” laid out his basic set of battery-powered audio equipment. A curious crowd of weekend shoppers had gathered to watch, with much excitement.
Reminiscent of troubadours and minstrels of old, he set up a small “keyboard” (piano/organ), and after some fine-tuning, belted a fast “country” number that saw the crowd foot-tapping and clapping to the lively beat.
More catchy tunes followed and more tokens were dropped into his up-turned “cowboy hat” placed conveniently in front of him: a measure of the crowd’s appreciation for a great performance. With nods and smiles of thanks, he showed his appreciation to the crowd as well.
The young “cowboy” was one of many “street-entertainers” or “buskers” entertaining people on the streets, in malls and in market-places, as well as in cafes and restaurants in our fine city.
Up on The Hills, a lone busker crooned “Hati Yang Terluka”, a sentimental number by the late Broery Marantika; his soothing vocals seeming to echo in the evening air, mesmerising the diners.
Meet 60-year-old Johar Affendi, a former saxophone-playing member of the army’s marching band based in West Malaysia. He retired some twenty-odd years ago, and returned to his native Mukah, where he joined the Melanau Cultural Association and participated in its shows and performances.
Happily married to a woman from Kuching, they eventually left Mukah. Back in the city, he found an opportunity to make use of his musical talent to earn some honest income by doing what he loves best: playing music and singing to entertain.
A seasoned entertainer, this one-man-band with his faithful keyboard sings English, Malay, Iban, and even Chinese songs, and has a special love for golden oldies.
Currently, Jahar is hired to entertain diners at a popular restaurant at The Hills Shopping Mall in Kuching every evening, except for Thursdays. Besides his “salary”, he also earns tokens of between RM60-RM70 per night from kind and appreciative diners.
“Money is beside the point,” said Jahar, “The main thing is I enjoy playing music and singing to entertain an appreciative crowd.”
Down at the Kuching Waterfront, a young man sat among his impressive array of musical instruments, singing “Isabella”, a Malay slow-rock number, to a crowd of diners at a popular food-stall.
Millzam, from Samariang, who goes by his glamour-name “Emell”, started his love for busking since 5 years ago by performing at various functions and weddings. Nowadays, on most nights he could earn around RM50 as “tokens of appreciation” for his performance. Sometimes he receives special requests from the audience, who then pay him to sing a certain song.
“Money is secondary,” said Emell, “and performances must be sincere.”
Ten miles away, on the outskirts of Kuching, “Intan Buskers” was performing, much to the delight of shoppers in a busy megamall.
The four-piece band (also known as “Satok Buskers”) is a family affair; it is led by Mohammad bin Bakri, and is made up of his daughter, 11-year-old Intan Ruhida (guitarist/vocalist), her elder sister, Puteri Naima, 17 (drummer), and elder brother, Amirul Sidik, 21 (bass guitarist). Mohammad, too, plays the guitar and sings.
Between them, they sing a variety of songs in several languages such as English, Malay, Iban and even Chinese; ranging from oldies to the latest pop hits, thus appealing to shoppers of different age groups and races.
Street entertainers or buskers can usually be found on busy streets and in places where there are crowds of people. They are seldom professional performers and they never claim to be so (although a few are), but are simply amateurs with some measures of talent who enjoy playing to the audience and at the same time hoping for some token of appreciation. They come from all walks of life: youngsters, aspiring artistes, retirees and those with disabilities.
They provide us with entertainment and cheer. Like the musical jukebox, they play our favourite songs – live! Just watching them perform brightens our day and takes away, even for a brief moment, our worries and stress.
