Cultural collaboration: Shila (left) and Sit (right).
Compiled by BENJAMIN LEE, MANJIT KAUR and R.ARAVINTHAN
MALAYSIAN singer Shila Amzah and Hong Kong artiste Nancy Sit will release a multilingual Lunar New Year song titled The Year of the Yo, reported Sin Chew Daily.
This was the first time that Shila and Sit had worked together.
The song’s lyrics are in English, Malay and Chinese – the last including parts in Cantonese and Hokkien.
“My tongue is almost tingling,” said Shila.
The song showcases the cultural diversity of Malaysia, with Sit and Shila interpreting the lou sang (yee sang tossing) culture in a unique singing style.
Lou sang is a distinctive Malaysian Chinese New Year dish that symbolises prosperity and good fortune.
“I believe that once this song is released, Hong Kong will also experience a craze for lou sang,” said Sit.
She also praised Shila for her Cantonese. Not knowing Cantonese beforehand, Shila said she had to practise hard.
During the recording, Shila was even asked to spontaneously create a Malay rap, and she completed it in just 15 minutes, earning praise from Sit.
> Chinese educationist groups Jiao Zong (United Chinese School Teachers’ Association) and Dong Zong (United Chinese School Committees’ Association), collectively known as Dong Jiao Zong, will meet up with Deputy Education Minister Wong Kah Woh on Jan 8, reported China Press.
This was confirmed by Dong Zong chairman Tan Tai Kim, who said a quarterly meeting should be held to discuss Chinese education issues.
Besides the “construction and relocation plan of the ‘10+6’ Chinese primary schools,” he said Dong Jiao Zong would also raise other issues such as funding for independent Chinese schools.
Tan said there would be no honeymoon period for Wong as the Deputy Minister has to look into resolving three main issues concerning Chinese education – the teacher shortage, the 10+6 construction and relocation plan for Chinese primary schools, and recognition of the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC).
The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.
