TRIBUTE ABDUL - Perdana Library

TRIBUTE TO TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN
It is against this supremely unfavourable background,
covering more than fifty years of neglect and a decade of
terrorism that we should view what follows and, bearing these
obstacles in mind, assess the magnitude of the achievement.
Early in 1956, six months after he had been elected
Malaya's first Chief Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman
conceived the idea of organising a "Festival of Culture" in
Kuala Lumpur, in which the old Malay dances, dramas,
ceremonies, games and passtimes could be revived, and presented
side by side with those of Chinese and Indian origin.
He entrusted Enche Ya'acob bin Abdul Latif and the
staff of the Information Service with the task of discovering
the veterans of an earlier generation of actors and actresses,
dancers, musicians, puppeteers and the like and coaxing them
back to the foot lights.
Although burdened with a multitude of other problems,
Funku Abdul Rahman found time to inspire with his personal
enthusiasm and infectious goodwill and charm those who,
at the outset, lacked sufficient faith in his capacity to work
miracles, and by June a galaxy of long forgotten gaiety was
assured and a new word "PESTA" had been added to the
Malay language.
The Lake Gardens took on the appearance of a Royal
Demesne during high festival, with eleven separate stages,
skilfully sited out of ear-shot and view of each other, and when
Tunku Abdul Rahman was poled down the lake in a royal
barge to open the Festival at dusk on Friday July 13th.
eleven different programmes entertained an immense cosmopolitan
audience who moved from one stage to another until
the lights were turned out at midnight. This continued for three
nights in succession, while Top Spinning, (King sized from
Kelantan), Kite Flying, Sepak Raga and other traditional
Malay passtimes could be seen each afternoon.
The phenomenal success of "Pesta" lay not only in the
achievement of Tunku Abdul Rahman's ambition in July 1957
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