Celcom Blue

Search to rock KL

BRACE yourself for the Search Di Awan Biru Concert, starring the country’s most iconic rock group Search, on Aug 1 in Kuala Lumpur. The concert carnival, which is the band’s biggest gig of the year, will take place at the Polo Pavilion, Bukit Kiara Equestrian And Country Resort, Kuala Lumpur from 3pm until midnight. This will be the fifth installment of the Search Di Awan Biru Concert tour series that took place in various locations over the last few months The group also visited Prai in Penang, Johor Baru, Jengka in Pahang and Kuala Terengganu. The concerts are organised by Art Is At Work Sdn Bhd, with Celcom as the main sponsor.

Search’s long-time band member Kid will join them on stage again, rocking “like the old good times”.

Kid, who has been with Search since the Fenomena album in 1989, will be performing with Hillary and Din on guitars.

To make the eight-hour concert more festive, Search has invited four independent bands to share the stage.

The confirmed bands are Pesawat, Revenge, Zip Ziller and Republic of Brickfields.

Thanks to Rapid KL, there will be two pick-ups every hour from noon until 1am the next morning, from KL Sentral to the venue, to cater to the expected crowd of 15,000.

Tickets are sold at RM58 and RM88 at participating Ticket Hotline outlets, namely the Kuala Lumpur Ticket Call Centre TTDI (03-7725-1177), Ticket2u Wangsa Melawati, Ticket Charge Mid Valley City, Viva Sports Shop Pertama Complex, Istana Budaya, Triways KLCC, Triways TTDI, Indoor Football Centre Jalan Genting Klang, Sri Amera Putrajaya, KSDBKL Brickfields, Sri Amera Shah Alam, HTO De Futsal Subang and Jaya Jusco Bukit Tinggi, Klang.

Exclusive to Prabayar Celcom Blue customers is a 30 per cent discount on concert tickets.

Just type ‘Search’ and send to 28881 and reload a minimum of RM30.
Customers who purchase and activate a Prabayar Celcom Blue pack will be entitled to free Search mobile content.
For details, visit www.duniasearch.com or www.tickethotline.com.my.

Saying goodbye to Yasmin Ahmad

Traffic was unusually heavy at nine this morning in the SS19 housing area here, as hundreds of people streamed into the peach-pink Abu Bakar As-Siddiq Mosque where special prayers were being readied.

An elderly Malay man in a blue Kancil driving past rolled down his window and asked: “Did someone pass away?”

“Yasmin Ahmad,” passers-by supplied.

“Ohhh...” he answered, shocked into silence. Instant recognition. The lines on his face deepened in sadness.

Yasmin Ahmad, celebrity film director and a giant in the world of commercial advertisements, was larger than life. The multicultural crowd that gathered in the mosque compound was proof of that, as well as reflecting the eclectic ethnicities she liked to use in her many movies and award-winning television ads shown in Malaysia and Singapore.

“She was a perfectionist,” said a Malay man met at the cemetery who remembers going on the various Petronas ad shoots with Yasmin.

“Not the easiest person to deal with. Had quite a bit of temper and was not afraid to show it,” the 49-year-old laughed softly.

“But she got things done,” he added.

“She was a darling,” said an ethnic-Chinese fellow reporter — off-duty — who had become friends some five years ago at a special pre-cinema release screening of Yasmin’s hit film “Sepet” at the Leo Burnett ad agency in Kuala Lumpur. It was Yasmin’s easy-going friendliness that touched her.

“Such a darling,” she repeated softly.

Yet for all the radical ideas and her penchant for shaking up the entertainment world while alive, her funeral was a sombre, quiet affair.

The crowds were respectfully silent at the mosque while her body was bathed and prepared for the last rites and again at the new Muslim burial ground in USJ 20 where she was laid to rest.

Tears ran down the faces of many freely today as they witnessed Yasmin’s body, cleaned and wrapped in pristine white sheets, laid into the clay yellow earth.

Yasmin’s husband, Abdullah Tan Yew Leong, staggered backwards and was gently led to a straw mat at the side.

Her mother, a tiny woman, was bowed under the weight of her age and very likely, at seeing her child go ahead on the last journey before her.

She passed out. The women nearby rushed forward and caught her in their arms, and gently put her on the mat as a mother lays her exhausted child to bed.

They fanned her prone figure furiously as the imam read out the last prayers for Yasmin’s soul to be at rest in a voice that rose hardly above a whisper.

The ladies in their headscarves dabbed unconsciously at their eyes hidden behind big, black sunshades. The men clapped each other on the back in masculine support, each gripping the other’s shoulder tightly.

A pall hung over them, heavy as the overcast dawn which greeted her death. It did not disperse even when the noon-day sun blazed overhead.

Amy Mastura worrying about kids

For singer Amy Mastura motherhood is all about nagging and worrying. She worries about her children when they go to school and she worries about them even when they're at home.

The sweet mother of two girls - Adriana, eight years old, and Adalia, four, says motherhood has changed her a lot.
“There are a lot more responsibilities now. Being a mother, most of the time I feel worried. I constantly worry about my two daughters. I think that's what motherhood is all about. Every single day there is this feeling of worry. If they're sick, I worry. Or if they're okay, I worry in case they fall down. If they don't study, I worry too. When they go to school, I worry about them. If they make friends at school, I worry. If they don't make friends, I worry.

“I worry if my daughters cannot fit in. For me, you don't have to be clever; it's your PR (public relations) that matters. If you are nice to people, if you can fit in in any society, you'll be okay. So, I'm scared if they cannot fit in. I'm worried if my daughters have the type of character that society doesn't like,” says Amy, adding that her elder daughter is more like the father while the younger one is more like her.

She admits to being worried for them because they are girls. However, after a short pause, she points out that even if she had sons she would be equally worried.

“I don't just worry about who they meet or go out with when they leave the house. I also worry about them when they are at home – I'm scared they will open the gate and go out.

“I also try to prepare them regarding what to do if they meet strangers – what to do and where to go. I tell them if they are approached by 'bad people', leave the maid and run. Let the maid handle the 'bad person',” she says laughing.

Amy hopes her children will be able to fit in regardless of whether they are in the city, kampung or abroad.

“Fitting in is one thing, but they also must know their limitations so that they don't just do what everyone else is doing,” says Amy.

With her children as her top priority, Amy says she makes sure she's at home at night to see them before they sleep. She even accepts fewer outstation jobs now.

When they were younger, the girls used to go along with Amy for her outstation jobs. However, it is not so easy to do so now because they are both in school.

While Adalia still wants to tag along with her wherever she goes, Adriana prefers to stay at home and play computer games.

Amy doesn't put a limit on how much time the girls can spend on the computer as long as they finish their school work first.

When they are finished, then they can play computer games and watch TV as much as they want.

“There's no point in stopping them from using the computer because then they'll play games on the phone or the Game Boy. There are games everywhere,” says Amy.

Although she is more relaxed with certain things, Amy is very particular when it comes to respect for elders.

“I am particular about their manners and how they speak to their elders. I don't tolerate them speaking loudly or yelling at elders.”

Amy believes in spending as much time as possible with her children now while they are still young. She tells her husband that they better take the kids with them on holidays now before the day comes when the girls no longer want to spend time with them