Singapore-born Malay music hitmaker S. Atan dies
Singapore-born lyricist, composer and producer S. Atan has died at his home in Selangor, Malaysia, on Nov 16. He was 75.
According to Berita Harian, the musician was recently hospitalised for a lung infection.
A prolific artiste, he wrote more than 1,000 songs, including hits for Malaysian pop stars such as Siti Nurhaliza and Jamal Abdillah.
He started in the music industry in 1972 and was known as the “King of Raya Songs”. He wrote evergreen songs that are played every Hari Raya season, such as Dari Jauh Ku Pohon Maaf (I Seek Forgiveness From Afar, 1981) by late Malaysian singer Sudirman; and Cahaya Aidilfitri (Light Of Aidilfitri, 1978) by Singapore band Black Dog Bone.
Born Hashim Said, he grew up in a kampung in Geylang Serai in Singapore. He learnt to play instruments such as the accordion and bongo drums from his uncle. He was also a member of the music club in the local Chinese-language school, Happy Garden.
He later joined Singapore Broadcasting Corporation, now Mediacorp, as the conductor of orchestra Kalungan Nada. At the same time, he was playing the piano and accordion at a hotel in Johor Baru.
At the age of 22, he joined record company EMI in Singapore as a full-time composer and was later transferred to its studios in Kuala Lumpur. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he worked in music studios in Taiwan.
In 2016, he staged a headline concert at the Esplanade Concert Hall, accompanied by singers and musicians such as Black Dog Bone singer Jatt Ali and late Malaysian singer-composer Jay Jay, who died in August.
In May, he helmed the orchestra at Jamal’s Singapore concert at The Star Theatre.
In recognition of his contributions to the Malay music industry, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 36th Anugerah Bintang Popular Berita Harian, an annual awards show by Malaysian media outlet Berita Harian, in October.
He leaves behind his wife, Datin Norizan Yeob, 10 children and 10 grandchildren.
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