There have been a lot of tough guys. There have been pretenders. And there have been contenders. But there is only one king.
— Bruce Springsteen, American singer-songwriter
It was certainly a picture of gloom surrounding my persona upon hearing about the demise of a friend in music.
I was privileged to be acquainted with the late Tan Sri Abang Khalid Abang Marzuki circa 2004. He dropped by with a few others at The Sapphire Pub & Business Lounge then run by Dennis Hon.
I was then on three jobs as a college lecturer during the day, stringing for Sarawak Tribune via my Sunday column Local Music Scene under my byline Anya Kedap, and as the pub’s deejay between 7pm and 1.30am.
Khalid, then with Dato Sri honorific — the King bestowed him with the Panglima Setia Mahkota (PSM) that carries the Tan Sri title in 2017 — was a regular patron and used to send a glass or two of wine to the deejay’s counter.
He was a rock and roll fan, and was very fond of Elvis songs. It became our common bond. During our first gig at The Sapphire in 2005, I remember him coming after our first session but was seen obviously enjoying the rest of the sessions for the evening, an anniversary of The King’s passing.
Performing during the gig were Wilfred Vincent Ragam, Reynolds Gregory (now deceased), Ges Barundang @ Elges Presley (now deceased), yours truly, Christy Duin Tanggi @ Elchris, Aubery Chan and Eskandar Eyaw (also deceased).
Highly impressed with our performances, Khalid, a well-known philanthropist and successful businessman, gathered a few of us Elvis Tribute Artistes (ETAs) to perform on his birthday at the Casablanca Lounge of The Riverside Majestic Hotel in Kuching. A few of us ETAs really enjoyed a free flow of drinks plus a very generous fee from the lavish father of Malaysian singing sensation Camelia.
Two years later, he also invited a few of us ETAs to a dinner held at the same hotel — this time our spouses were also included in the invitation.
When our Elvis Presley Fan Club of Sarawak (EPFCS) was formed in 2014, Khalid was one of our initial targets for funding among others. He contacted our club president Elges to receive a contribution from him. Elges and I went over to his office where a simple handing over of fund ceremony was held.
A few representatives from other organisations were also in attendance to receive donations from him. Our club was made RM2,000 richer on that auspicious day.
His donation to our club reflected not only his charitable mission but also a true reflection of friendship and sincerity apart from his love for music, especially the rock and roll genre and repertoires of Elvis, the man who was and is always referred to as The King.
It was his typical deed of giving back to society. His other philanthropic acts over the years were numerous and these are easily found in volumes if one browses the internet.
For his gift, our ETAs were very grateful as we used the funding as nominal fees for our performances which are a vital platform for us to share Elvis music and songs with the fans, thereby helping to enliven The King’s legacy.
We are also truly very thankful to the others who have contributed to our club, especially to club advisor Tan Sri William Mawan Ikom who started the ball rolling (allocating fund) in 2014 and hitherto he has given more than RM10,000 to The King’s men. Others who have donated to us include Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian, Datuk Amar Michael Manyin Jawong, Datuk Dr Jerip Susil and the late Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Jemut Masing.
I was also present with our late president Elges to receive a cheque from Dr Sim and Manyin. But it was the simple cheque handing-over ceremony from Masing in 2016 that was well-attended by our ETAs comprising Eskandar, Azmi Jahidin, Major (rtd) Abong Amping, Christy Duin Tanggi, Bobby Tham and yours truly.
Our president Elges was not present during the event held at Masing’s office as he was then on a short-term employment in Melbourne, Down Under.
Pictures that have become ‘frozen moments in time’ are kind and nostalgic reminders of us receiving our respective cheques from Khalid in 2015 (involving Elges and I), from Masing in 2016 and from Mawan in 2014 (during a courtesy call by ETAs to his then ministerial office).
To both the late Tan Sri (Khalid and Masing), I pray for their kind souls to rest in everlasting peace. My same prayer also goes to our ETAs who left the building comprising Elges (1956-2021), Eskandar (1945-2021), Reynolds (1951-2010), Albert Blassan (1947-2021), Jimmy Adit (1955-2020), John Sia of Sibu (1954-2016) and Alex Ting of Miri (1957-2013).
