Johor getai singers flocking to Singapore

The Seventh Lunar Month is in full swing, during which it is traditionally believed that the gates of Hell open to let spirits roam the streets. But during this Hungry Ghost season, there is a different kind of hungry visitor from across another border: the Malaysian getai performer.

Malaysian acts have long been familiar sights in local getai, which are concerts believed to appease ghosts so that they do not disturb the living.

However, with the ringgit at a record low against the Singapore dollar (about RM2.97 to S$1), more Malaysians are crossing the Causeway to take advantage of the stronger Singapore currency.

The result is a Malaysian invasion, with some Singaporean acts feeling the heat, say getai organisers.

Veteran local getai organiser Peter Loh, 64, estimates there is a 30 per cent increase in the number of Malaysians coming here. He is organising 30 concerts across Singapore during the Hungry Ghost season, which runs from Aug 14 to Sept 12 this year.

For him, it makes financial sense to hire Malaysians because they are cheaper and better.

"Malaysian performers do whatever they can to make their shows more exciting - from spending more money on costumes to changing their act," says the man who has been organising getai concerts for more than 40 years. "Singaporean performers are very sui bian (lackadaisical in Mandarin) in comparison."

Hit video features singers from 9 welfare homes

                 

StarHub's remake of Kit Chan's iconic 1998 song Home has been a viral hit.
The video features singers from nine different welfare homes.

They all took turns to sing a small part of the song, some in English, some in their mother tongues of Tamil, Malay or Mandarin.

Although it took only three days to shoot the video, the process of bringing everyone together took far longer.

Ms Jeannie Ong, chief strategic partnership officer of StarHub, said that it took nearly six months - from February to July - to put everything in place.

The hope is that the video will spread a message of inclusiveness and inspire Singaporeans to care, share, volunteer and donate to worthy causes.

One of the performers, Muhammad Hafizzudin Hasanudin, 16, who said that he "jumped around the house like a monkey" when he was told that he was going to be featured.

"I was excited because I've always wanted to be a singer," said the former resident of Muhammadiyah Welfare Home.

He left the home at the end of 2013 and is now a student at Yishun Secondary School.

Another performer from the same home is Muhammad Nur Fatheen Zainal Abidin, 18.
The ITE College West student said: "It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience.


"The fact that we are singing in a video for SG50 makes me all the more proud to be part of it."