ARTISTES APPEAL FOR A SABAH–BASED TV CHANNEL

Artistes appeal for a Sabah-based TV channel

PENAMPANG Jan 21, 2012: Many artistes in the State believe that a Sabah-based TV channel will be the best platform to nurture singing talents among Sabahans.

Representatives of Sabah local artists, Janrywine J.Lusin and Jimmy Palikat in a joint press conference yesterday, shared their concerns and support for a proper TV channel that Sabahans can watch and listen, as an option to the entertainment industry in Malaysia.

“My latest single ‘Macam di KK’ has been uploaded to the Internet through YouTube, but it has created several negative comments among fans throughout the country. Most of them love the song, but those who do not like it especially those from the peninsula expressed their negative comments that offended Sabahans.

“I am very open minded. It is normal if people don’t like my song because it might not be close to their heart, but in this case the song has become a tool for some fans to create unwelcome critics. I don’t want this to get worse,” said Janrywine at the press conference held at D Junction Lido, here yesterday.

He said simple comments in the Internet, especially racist comments have no place in a multi-racial country such as Malaysia.

Janrywine said such a situation is one example why Sabah should have its own TV channel immediately as a platform to expose the singing talents of Sabahans and not just to upload it to the Internet because entertainment in Sabah deserves to be watched.

Lusin said Sabah music and film will be more appreciated by Malaysians if the watch them on TV.

Meanwhile, Jimmy who is famous for his song ‘Tanak Kampung’ which has been translated into Kelantanese, Bidayuh or even adopted into a Rock version by one of bands in Peninsular Malaysia, said it is not fair to treat Sabahans as a stepchild in the Malaysia music industry, especially when they are as equally talented as music players in the peninsula.

Palikat said his single ‘Tanak Kampung’ took more than one year to reach out to the whole country because there is no platform to promote, unlike songs from the peninsula that could easily be promoted on TV and national radio because most channels are peninsula-based.

“There is an urgent need for our own TV channel. We have the demand, we even have the market and talent. The current TVi channel on channel 108 in Astro that is supposed to be promoting Sabah is not enough because our slots are only for a few hours.

“Sabah-based TV channel will help not only the musicians but also film makers and politicians to highlight their talent and struggle to the Sabahans,” he said.

He stressed that Sabah and Sarawak could combine in the effort to promote the variety in its language, culture, tourism attraction or even calling for support from many potential advertisers.

Palikat’s statement was echoed by one of Sabahan singers, Rozza Rothman who lauded the move by Palikat and Lusin to hand over a memorandum to the Local Artistes’ Association of Sabah (Pertisa) on the proposal for a Sabah-based TV channel.

Rozza said she would support any suggestion made by local artistes to uplift the singing industry in Sabah as long as it is channeled to the right audience and in a proper way.

Pertisa deputy president, Narsisius Justin Misin who attended the press conference welcomed the joint effort by Lusin and Palikat and that they should be supported by the other artistes in Sabah because having a Sabah-based TV channel will be something that is interesting and meaningful.

“I look at this effort as a positive move by them as we are already on par with the other talents in the peninsula.

“We only need the right platform to show what we have in Sabah. We have many interesting performers and stories from Sabah that will attract many investors,” said Misin who is waiting for the memorandum to be handed over to the association.

Sabahan film director, P. Dik Ganai (Fdam) said Sabah and Sarawak film makers should be treated equally by TV stations based in the peninsula.

He said many TV channels are treating Sabah and Sarawak as their option in the film and music industry due to the long geographical distance.

“This is why this proposal is very important because we want Sabah-based TV channel that is managed by our own people. This is the time for the government to help us by giving us the green light.

“If certain people question our talent and quality, they haven’t discovered our talent to the maximum yet because our problem is we do not have any proper channel to showcase our talent to the people. TV channel will be the only way to help us,” he added.

DJ Othoe, a former DJ in a national radio station, said he had experienced many negative responses from many Sabahans who did not believe in what Sabahans can offer.

“I have been on air for two years in the national radio station with my Sabah dialect. Many people called me crazy at that time but I never gave up. I saw the potential and I want to be the medium for Sabahan singers to show their talent.

“After being called crazy along the way in my career, now we all witness that not only my former radio station but many other radio stations have set up Sabah-based radio stations that are now competing against one another,” he said.

DJ Othoe believes that Sabah-based TV channel will be able to showcase the whole of Sabah, as another interesting development in the country’s broadcasting industry.

He said the government should play its role to be a part of the proposal as TV channel will also help the policy makers to spread the government’s messages to the people.