GEORGE TOWN: Growing up in the 1950s, an era when girls were mostly not educated, Toh Ai Hwa taught herself the lines for every role and the drum parts of nearly a hundred Teochew operas over the years.
“My mother said girls did not go to school back then, so I had no formal education and still cannot read, but I memorised the lines and tunes through years of listening.
“Aside from singing, I am a drummer and a conductor,” she said at the Penang State Arts Awards ceremony held at Royale Chulan Hotel in George Town on Saturday.
The recipient of the Penang Arts Icon Award 2025 said that in those days, daughters were not sent to school.
Toh, 74, who has been in the business for six decades, began performing in Teochew operas when she was 12.
“It runs in the blood, as I am a third-generation performer and my children and grandchildren followed in my footsteps.
“It is important to me that it continues, because if we do not hold on to it and encourage the younger ones, it will eventually disappear.
“I still perform at temples, festivals and events. We go by invitation in a troupe of eight, which includes my son,” she said.
Toh, who runs the Kim Giak Low Choon troupe, which she founded in 1989, said she felt proud and happy to receive the award.
She was accompanied by her daughter Goh Hooi Ling, 45, who described the recognition as a mark of appreciation for her mother’s dedication and determination in preserving traditional Chinese heritage arts.
“I am proud of my mother. She showed that all the effort and sacrifice over the years to preserve our arts have finally been appreciated.
“We are now continuing the legacy she built through my siblings and their children,” she said.
Goh, who established the Teochew Puppet and Opera House to preserve the art, said the museum allows the younger generation to learn about the history of the Teochew community’s puppetry art and classical opera.
“If we do not have such a place, eventually the art will die off with the older generation,” she said.
The ceremony was organised by the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry through the Penang Arts and Culture Department to recognise those who have made significant contributions in championing arts and culture in the state.
Penang tourism and creative economy committee chairman Wong Hon Wai, who presented Toh with the award, thanked her for her contribution to arts and culture in Penang.
“It is an important recognition, and she has been integral in keeping the Teochew puppeteering art alive.
“She and her family have contributed to the arts and it is important to share this with the public.
“I am happy to hear that the younger generation has shown interest and that her grandchildren will continue the legacy she has built,” he said.
