| From Kuala Kangsar to... |
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| Wednesday, 23 January 2008 | |
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A UNIQUE tribute to the Malay College Kuala Kangsar, in the first art exhibition of its kind, has enthralled Malaysians from all walks of life for a month. The exhibition, called “From Kuala Kangsar”, featured not only paintings but also photography, books and writings by the college's old boys and former teachers. It was put together by Raja Ahmad Aminullah Raja Abdullah, owner of RA Fine Art Sdn Bhd and former Petronas Art Gallery director-general and fellow old boy Zainol Abidin Ahmad Shariff ("Zabas") as guest curator.  Raja Ahmad with some of the photographs on display. Raja Ahmad said the exhibition was a first of its kind in a Malaysian art gallery. "We had visitors from all walks of life, not unlike the contributors of our exhibits. Many of the visitors said they would love to see more such exhibitions as they enlighten Malaysians on the creative side of its illustrious sons," he said. The exhibition was held from Dec 17 to Jan 15. Raja Ahmad said organising the exhibition was his labour of love and a "100th birthday present" for his alma mater, which celebrated its centenary recently. The exhibition brought on display a "lesser-known dimension to the trajectories undertaken by the MCKK alumni", he said. "More often than not, we know of the famous graduates of MCKK (and their public achievements). What we seldom get to see is their artistic and creative side." Paintings on display included works by the Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negri Sembilan, Tuanku Jaafar Tuanku Abdul Rahman; the late Sultan Idris Shah II of Perak, his son Raja Shah Sultan Idris, Datuk Mustapha Mahmud, Datuk Mahsun Taib, filmaker and activist Hishamuddin Rais, Abdul Razak Ali, Sham Kamaruddin, Dzulkifly Mohd Zain, Kamal Zakaria, Shaharun Harun, Nik Ariff Nik Ahmad, Syed Bakar Syed Salim, Zainuddin Jamil, Kamal Mustaffa and Zabas. Raja Ahmad said the works of art in the exhibition did not adhere to any particular theme, but merely showed the talents of the MCKK alumni.  Raja Ahmad's Screamer - Towards The Future depicts a cheerful child. Zainuddin's art includes Poulet, a batik-style painting of a young cockerel's "dreams" while Mahsun created Budak Sayong, an earthy-coloured portrait of an exotic Kuala Kangsar beauty. Syed Bakar's finely-drawn ink sketches aptly capture life in the college and scenes of Kuala Kangsar's town centre awash in a flood, while Dzulkifly's close-up of a sad-looking baby orang-utan, Forlorn, serves as a commentary on the human race's mistreatment of animals. The exhibition also displayed photography by Azli Jamil, Hasnul Hassan, Munzir Fauzi and Raja Ahmad himself. Photographs from the private collections of Datuk Hisham Albakri, Mustapha and Tunku Adnan Tunku Besar Burhanuddin were also displayed, alongside MCKK neckties, a keris sheath carved by Mustapha and wood carvings by Kuazman Dinkhalish. The books on show included Datuk Ishak Muhammad's Anak Mat Lela Gila, Putera Gunung Tahan and Mustika Embun, Rehman Rashid's A Malaysian Journey, Datuk Mahmud Mat's Tinggal Kenangan, M. Bakri Musa's Seeing Malaysia My Way and Tan Sri Abdullah Ahmad's On The Record. The works of Effendi and Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Ramli Ngah Talib were featured as were the those of former MCKK teachers Tan Sri Zainal Abidin Ahmad ("Za'aba"), Muzaffar Tate and novelist Anthony Burgess of Malayan Trilogy fame.  Zainuddin Jamil's Poulet. "They are the products of my travels in the last two decades." The 103-year-old MCKK, sometimes called the Eton of Malaysia, was set up as a centre of education for Malaysian nobility and royalty. The college gradually opened its doors to Bumiputera Malaysians from all walks of life. More than 5,000 people have studied at MCKK since its inception and many became prominent as statesmen, corporate figures, Government servants and journalists. Besides royal figures like the Sultans of Pahang and Perak, and the Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negri Sembilan, famous MCKK old boys have included Umno founder Datuk Onn Jaafar, second Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, and current Cabinet ministers Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz. Tribute show enthrals all News Straits Times , 23rd January 2008, by Dennis Chua
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