KUCHING: Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud received the prestigious Perdana Seniman Agung P Ramlee Award at the grand Anugerah Perdana Seniman 2009 here, on Sunday.

The award was bestowed on him for his many contributions in promoting, developing and conserving the works of the legendary artiste, the late Tan Sri P Ramlee.

Veteran artiste Mustaffa Maarof handed over the award to Taib at the climax of the event which was held at the Indoor Stadium in Petra Jaya.

The event organised by Persatuan Seniman Malaysia and the state government brought about 170 artistes from Peninsular Malaysia to Sarawak.

Taib thanked the Persatuan Seniman Malaysia for the effort to promote Malaysian entertainment world.

“It is tough to survive in the entertainment industry, especially in this country. Even during P Ramlee’s time, he also experienced similar difficulties.

“But in actual fact, the government including the new Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak) feels for the artistes because he also wants to see the development of Malaysian culture through entertainment,” Taib said.

He added that P Ramlee was encouraged to produce films to show that Malaysia is a civilised country and this is seen in the dialogue of his movies and in the lyrics of his songs.

The state government also donated RM100,000 to Persatuan Seniman Malaysia.

Meanwhile, Taib handed over the Datuk Amar Bintang Kenyalang (DA) award which carries the title ‘Datuk Amar’ to P Ramlee’s daughter, Dian P Ramlee at the event.

The award was bestowed by the Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Datuk Patinggi Abang Muhammad Salahuddin on Saturday posthumously on the late Tan Sri Dr P Ramlee, which was received by Taib on behalf of the late Ramlee’s family at the Astana.

Earlier, Taib also handed over the Anugerah Bintang Seniman Pencapaian Abadi (Life Achievement) to Mustapha Maarof.

Mustapha was chosen for the award due to his involvement in and contribution to the entertainment industry, and had far surpassed the conditions and requirements set to receive the award.

The event also saw awards presented to actors, actresses, singers, musicians and producers, both veteran and new-comers to the Malaysian entertainment industry to honour their work and achievement.

Five special awards were dedicated for Sarawak-born artistes.

‘Pencapaian Cemerlang Dalam Bidang Lakonan’ went to Kassim Daud, ‘Pencapaian Cemerlang Dalam Bidang Penerbitan Filem & Drama’ went to Hock Star Entertainment while ‘Pencapaian Cemerlang Bidang Muzik’ went to the late Tudau Padan.

Two other awards, ‘Pencapaian Cemerlang Bidang Nyayian’ went to Sarbanun Marican while ‘Anugerah Khas Sebagai Pelakon Awal Anak Sarawak’ went to the late Narang Adam.

‘Penghargaan Khas Bidang Lakonan’ went to Mariani Ismail, ‘Penghargaan Khas Bidang Nyanyian dan Lakonan’ went to the late Sudirman Arshad, ‘Pencapaian Cemerlang Bidang Penerbitan Filem-Filem Malaysia yang Konsisten dan Box Office’ was awarded to David Teo, ‘Pencapaian Cemerlang Pengarah Filem Visual Effect’ went to Yusri KRU and ‘Pencapaian Cemerlang Penyanyi Bertaraf Antarabangsa’ went to Anita Sarawak.

‘Pencapaian Cemerlang Bidang Pengarahan Filem Generasi Baru’ was awarded to James Lee, ‘Pencapaian Cemerlang Komedi Sepanjang Zaman’ went to Datuk Aziz Sattar, ‘Pencapaian Cemerlang Penulis Lirik Terunggul’ went to Habsah Hassan, ‘Pencapaian Cemerlang Filem Globalisasi’ went to Yasmin Ahmad.

‘Sokongan dan Bantuan dalam Memartabatkan Filem Malaysia’ went to Malaysian National Film Development Corporation (Finas) while ‘Sokongan dan Bantuan dalam Memartabatkan Industri Televisyen Malaysia’ went to Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM).

A medley of P Ramlee songs brought the audience back in time when the songs were very popular and the event was a great hit judging from the full house in the stadium.

State Secretary Datuk Amar Wilson Baya Dandot, Social Development and Urbanisation Minister Dato Sri William Mawan and Film Distribution Association of Malaysia President Ahmad Fuad Onah were among those present.