Written by YAM Tunku Panglima Besar, Tunku Zain Al-‘Abidin ibni Tuanku Muhriz, Founding President of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS).

Shy singers, pianists and conductors are encouraged to step out of their comfort zones to contribute to more people appreciating the arts, especially among the younger generation.

It is rare that a bucket list item gets fulfilled coincidentally at short notice.

With a mere three days to go before the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Konsert Diraja, at a rehearsal to determine whether I would be participating at all, the conductor was somehow not at his podium when the Negri Sem­bilan state anthem was to be p­ractised.

A violinist gestured that I should conduct, and then a half- joking step forward (which triggered probably half-sarcastic clapping) led to a rather frenzied episode of “fake it till you make it”.

Just as many people sing in the shower without ever intending to do a public performance, many classical music enthusiasts “conduct” while listening to their fav­ourite symphonies.

Now, its accuracy was being put to the test.

Thankfully, I am quite familiar with Berkatlah Yang di-Pertuan Besar, comprising 16 bars of a majestic melody composed more than a century ago by the district officer of Jelebu (Andrew Calde­cott, who later became Governor of Hong Kong) with lyrics written by the private secretary to Tuanku Muhammad Shah (Tunku Zakaria bin Tunku Mambang, my great- granduncle).

During the time leading to and following the installation of Tuan­ku Muhriz as the State Ruler, I worked with both Datuk Johari Salleh and Chong Yew Boon to revitalise the anthem, culmina­ting in a recording with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orches­tra and an amalgamation of choirs on July 6, 2010.

Since then, I’ve performed in every UKM Konsert Diraja – either a solo piano piece, a duet with a cousin or with the orchestra.

However, there hasn’t been such a concert organised since 2019, so it was nerve-racking to get back on stage to perform with the combination of professional musicians from the DBKL Orches­tra and UKM students and alumni.

I have become more comfortable at giving speeches and interviews, but the butterflies in the tummy feeling while waiting on the side of the stage – the Dewan Filhar­mo­nik PETRONAS at that! – never goes away.

In the event, I ended up conducting the state anthem and played piano to accompany both the orchestra for P. Ramlee’s Getaran Jiwa and Datuk Zainal Abidin (who I have thankfully jammed with before) for his two massive hits, Hijau and Manis.

Being catapulted into that experience prepared me well for the next performance I was invited to join the following weekend.

It was the inaugural edition of the Nine Arts Festival, founded by Seremban-born UK-based pianist Foo Mei Yi: her way of bringing something home.

Last August, I narrated at its soft launch at Istana Lama Seri Menanti, and in April, played at its fundraiser in London.

The opening night “Navarasa” on Aug 14 brought together the Sutra Dance Foundation with the Noghori Arts School on caklempong and classical musicians for a truly memorable show against the hills near Seremban; and the ensuing day saw Charlie Chaplin, wayang kulit and workshops involving the community bring three venues across the state capi­tal to life.

Its closing event took the form of a quiz in which Chacko Vada­keth and Beza Cabeza appeared as different characters, complete with costumes, accents and musical interludes of which I played in one.

It was especially gratifying to see Negri Sembilan artistes and traditions – especially the caklempong – being presented to keen vie­wers, particularly as I was so inspired just a few days before when visiting for the second time the Sahabat Gamelan (Saga) Warisan Sari during a short visit to Kuala Terengganu.

The exciting thing about there being resurgent practitioners of traditional art forms is the healthy debates it brings to competing philosophies: should the aim be to preserve, to remain as pure and authentic as possible? Or should it be to bring as much radical innovation as necessary – provocation, even – in order to attract new audiences?

As ever in the arts, there is space for both, and so many viewpoints in between – but only if there are artistes willing to take the risks, and a market able and willing to spend time and money to appreciate them.

As I said in my speech at the opening night of the festival, it is heartwarming that in a world of so much division, of domestic political tension and geopolitical upheaval, there are still enough enthusiasts, sponsors and suppor­ters who are able to sustain and indeed expand the opportunities for people to appreciate the arts.

The impact on future generations cannot be underestimated and I encourage shy singers, pianists and conductors to step out of their comfort zones to contribute, too!

This article was featured in The Star, 21 August 2026

Tunku Zain Al-‘Abidin is patron of the Nine Arts Festival and Royal Fellow of UKM. The views expressed here are the writer’s own.