Malaysia's Permata Seni Students Dazzle At Global Good Governance Award Night

ISTANBUL, May 27 (Bernama) -- PERMATA Seni students enchanted international audience at the Global Good Governance Award on Thursday night with their spectacular wide-ranging performances, portraying the diversity of Malaysian culture. Led by director Muhammad Akmal Ayob, 60 PERMATA Seni students, from three different fields -- choir, dance and music orchestra, combined their wits and skills, to woo some 200 people who came for the inaugural award ceremony. It was also a memorable night as well for PERMATA as it received the '3G Children Welfare Award' for its success in nurturing the children's' talents. The award was received by its patron, Rosmah Mansor, who came up with the idea of PERMATA, which manifests a strong belief that each and every child has the potential to be gems of the country if they are given the right stimulus, environment, guidance and training from young. The night's performance started with "Kasih Suntingan", a dance choreography consisting three Malay classical dances from different Malaysian states -- Makyong from Kelantan, Joget Gamelan from Terengganu and Terinai from Perlis. The music orchestra then showed their skills in playing string symphony "Mendelson String Symphony in D Major (1st movement)" which was composed by a romantic composer, Felix Mendelssohn. They also showed their prowess in performing a Turkish pop song, "Simarik", made popular by Tarkan, a famous Turkish singer, as well as a medley of two famous Malay dance music -- Joget Angan Tak Sudah and Joget Renung Renung. Both songs arrangement were by Lee Sze Wan and Muhammad Zulfazely Alizan. As a special gift to host country, the children then performed a Turkish folk dance "Horon", an energetic dance from the Black Sea region of Turkey. The choir group then performed several songs such as Alice's Theme, a soundtrack from 2010's movie "Alice in Wonderland", Kenek-Kenek Udang/Lembu Patah Tanduk, a funk-fueled pop classic "Blame it on the Boogie", as well as "Hit Me Up" from the animation "Happy Feet". PERMATA Seni children then closed the night with a multiracial dance, reflecting the multicultural society in Malaysia as well as a medley of two epic songs, "I Believe I Can Fly" and "Heal the World". Also present were Culture And Arts Director-General Norliza Rofli and Tourism and Culture Ministry secretary-general Dr Ong Hong Peng. PERMATA programmes welcome children and teenagers from every walk of life, with the objective of providing a platform to unleash potentials and sharpen talents in order to accelerate national growth and cultivate a leading generation Malaysia can be proud of. --BERNAMA