In The Media
The Star, Central, 17 December 2005
AFTER years of faithful service, elephants are now the focus of man’s efforts to save them.
The Trumpeting for Elephants Charity Bazaar and Concert held recently at The Legend Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, drew thousands of people rallying to do their bit in conserving these gentle giants from extinction.
The acclaimed Melbourne Grammar School Symphony Orchestra presented several scores alongside performances by Malaysian artiste Zainal Abidin and the renowned Malaysian Operafest Children’s Choir.
The event was organised by the Fund for Awareness and Preservation of Elephant Survival (APES), established by a group of concerned youths championing elephant conservation.
APES was birthed by members of The Star’s young journalist programme BRATS after a visit to the Lanchang elephant sanctuary in June.
The visit was part of the BRATS Green Pow Wow camp, which saw the youths exposed to the issues surrounding elephant conservation and the challenges towards preserving the gentle creatures from extinction.
“Of late, we have been hearing more and more reports about elephants being killed after they were found encroaching on plantation land and villages that were formerly the animals’ natural habitats,” said an APES spokesperson.
“Yet, many Malaysians are not aware of the over 2, 000 elephants we have in our very own backyard and which are struggling to survive. Some of us travel to Thailand to see elephants in the wild, when we have them right in our backyards.
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The acclaimed Melbourne Grammar School Symphony Orchestra led by their music director and conductor Rutherford presenting several scores. View pictures. |
“Through this bazaar and concert and the upcoming media publicity built around our campaign of Don’t Ask Why, Ask Why Not, we hope more Malaysians and foreign visitors will become more aware of the need to preserve Malaysian elephants.”
Sales of the concert tickets at RM30 each raised RM40, 000 towards the fund.
Zainal topped up the fund by contributing RM10, 000.
Malaysian Nature Society chairman Angela Hijjas received the funds on behalf of APES.
The concert saw a spirited performance by the acclaimed Melbourne Grammar School Symphony Orchestra led by its music director and conductor Martin Rutherford.
The concert kicked off with the Malaysian and Australian national anthems before moving on to a score by Peter Warlock.
The audience were treated to enjoyable works by Johannes Brahms, Sir Edward Elgar, Edvard Grieg, Dmitri Kabalevsky and a unique Malaysian Folk Music score by Woon Wen Kin and a fun-filled Australian piece that depicted a train journey, complete with the distinctive sounds of a steam engine punctuated with shrill whistles.
The Operafest Children’s Choir wowed the audience with several songs presented by its 35 members aged between 12 and 18. Since its birth 19 years ago, the choir has mesmerised audiences in many countries including the United States, Greece, Wales, Spain, Singapore and Australia.
Zainal ended the evening with a presentation of some of his most popular songs that also represented his concern for the environment such as Hijau, Gaia and Dua Dunia.
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Malaysian Operafest Children’s Choir presenting a spirited performance. View pictures. |
A team of some 20 BRATs rallied to do their bit by selling beautiful, handmade stuffed elephants made from felt and silver plated pendants and trinkets.
“One BRATs member sewed these stuffed elephants within two weeks,” said BRATs member Debbie Chan.
“They make great gifts as key chains and they can also double up as unique, colourful Christmas tree ornaments. We have sold over three quarters of our stock.”
Some 43 booths also sold a variety of handicraft at the bazaar including Christmas ornaments and gifts, calendars, greeting cards, stuffed toys, T-shirts and shopping bags.
Many were charitable organisations like PAWS, SPCA, Pure Life Society, National Cancer Society of Malaysia, Rumah Hope and the Persatuan Kanak Kanak Istimewa Kajang, Selangor.
For more information on APES, visit their site at www.Malaysianelephants.blogspot.com |
