The following are the citations for the individuals who were conferred three of the Special Awards at the 4th Annual BOH Cameronian Arts Awards 2005.

Mandarin Oriental, Kuala Lumpur Most Promising Artist Award

ADELINE WONG
Adeline’s compositions have been performed in London, Los Angeles, New York, Italy, Singapore and Malaysia. Her music is often described as metropolitan, sophisticated and surprising; her towering complexities never fail also to achieve breathtaking coherence; she has won admirations of musicians, artists and audiences with her bold imagination and ambitious compositions.

For consistent outstanding compositions, for an inspiring musical imagination, and for a musical voice that is truly international and contemporary, Adeline Wong is The Mandarin Oriental, Kuala Lumpur Most Promising Artist Award 2004.

ArtseeFartsee Cross Cultural Champion of the Art Award

ANGELA HIJJAS
Angela Hijjas arrived in Malaysia over 30 years ago under the Australian Volunteers Abroad programme, and is today recognised as one of Malaysia’s leading arts patrons.

Angela’s support of the arts include the Rimbun Dahan Residency programme and the sponsorship of traditional and contemporary music, dance and theatre by Malaysian and international artist.

Her personal sensitivity and commitment towards the creative process has been an empowering force for wayang and menora performers, contemporary gamelan musicians, visual artists, composers, playwrights, academics, curators, poets and more.

For her generosity to artists from Malaysia and the region, for her commitment to building bridges and facilitating cross-cultural exchange in the region, Angela Hijjas is the winner ArtseeFartsee Cross Cultural Champion of the Art.

BOH Cameronian Lifetime Achievement Award

DALANG DOLLAH BAJU MERAH
Abdullah bin Ibrahim, or Dalang Dollah Baju Merah, was a prodigy who began performing wayang as a child. He was celebrated for his skill, sensitivity and provocative style, and became one of the most popular wayang kulit dalangs of Kelantan. Following a ban on wayang by the Kelantan state government in 1990 however, Dalang Dollah was forced to eke out a living as a labourer and rubber tapper.

Despite economic hardship and pressure from the Kelantan State government, Dalang Dollah has continued to perform and to cultivate a wayang audience in his home state. Refusing to change his style to suit official demands, his performance grew in artistic defiance, imbued with characteristic irreverence and sly political commentary. A Dollah Baju Merah performance captivated all who watch, from children to adults, from kampong folks to city dwellers. Witty and wise, he inspired everyone.

On 26 September last year, at the age of 67, Dalang Dollah Baju Merah passed away.

For a lifetime of uncompromising artistic excellence in a Malaysian traditional art form and for sheer tenacity in the face of immense obstacles, Dalang Dollah Baju Merah is posthumously awarded the BOH Cameronian Lifetime Achievement Award for 2005.

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Photos from awards ceremony by Camworks. Photos of Dalang Dollah Baju Merah by Soraya Yusof Talismail.