FEATURE Born in 1926, one passed away last Saturday and the other two days later.

 

Over the years I got to know many Peters but two stand out as exemplary Malaysians; Reverend Peter Young, the priest, and Datuk Peter Pragas, the musician extraordinaire.

 

Both were born in 1926. The reverend passed away last Saturday at 88 and the Datuk two days later. They leave us a legacy and a void at the same time. In their own unobtrusive manners, they have shown us what it takes to be truly Malaysian.

Unassuming, unpretentious and totally dedicating their lives to enriching the lives of others through their respective God-given gifts.

 

I first met Peter Young in the mid-1980s in the most unlikely of places; the Selangor Club padang or what is now known as Dataran Merdeka. But Peter being Peter, any place is as likely or unlikely as any other.

 

At that time I was part of a lunch-hour silent picket as part of the nationwide campaign by the National Union of Journalists against the obnoxious Official Secrets Act that then Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad was rushing through parliament to get it amended and make it even more draconian. Operation Lalang, the crackdown on civil liberties followed soon after.

 

We were quietly parading in groups not more than four in front of the clock tower holding up hand-written placards denouncing the proposed amendments. Suddenly I noticed a lanky English gentleman in what is his trademark long sleeves batik shirt in our midst. He was leading a group of young Christians from Malaysian Care, of which he was then the executive director, lending support to our cause. His was the only group that turned up to support our cause that day.

 

I was immediately humbled and honoured at the same time. Ever so concerned for proper conduct and to ensure that the name of his NGO is not linked to this protest, he made the staff who followed him take leave from work so that the protest is strictly a personal matter. The very assuring presence of Peter was enough. And that's what so amazing about this man. There's an air of grace about him. So Christ-like and a man of God.

 

About three or fours years later, I became a Christian and some years later I left journalism to join Malaysian Care. By that time Peter had left to found Dignity with Services working alongside people with learning difficulties which later received the 2001 United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (Escap) Award. From this, a self-advocacy group, United Voices, was formed.

 

Fast forward to 2008. For the first time in our history, the ruling coalition lost its two-thirds majority as well as four states - Selangor, Penang, Kedah and Perak - to the opposition coalition in addition to Kelantan.

 

My friend, Goh Keat Peng, a lay preacher and an activist, and I thought it was time for Christians to take their place in the public square. So Keat Peng roped in Peter and another two pastors - Rev Sivin Kit, a Lutheran priest, and another lady pastor from the Methodist Church. Peter was no doubt our mentor.

 

It was Peter who gave this Christian advocacy group its name; www.TheMicahMandate.org anchored on Micah 6:8 as our vision statement: "The Lord God has told us what is right and what he demands: 'See that justice is done, let mercy be our first concern, and humbly obey your God." This was shortened to "Act justly, Love mercy, Walk humbly" as our website tagline.

 

At 82 years of age then, Peter became a blogger without owning a laptop or knowing how to use one. He wrote in long hand, then someone would transcribe it and someone else would upload it. Yet he became the most prolific and consistent blogger, leaving the rest of us gasping for breath.

 

Peter came as a missionary to Perak in 1954 where he later met Betty who was also a missionary and they soon married. Betty passed away a few years back. Peter later became a teacher and pastor of a local church. He chose to remain in Malaysia and became a naturalised citizen.

 

The Datuk of Music

 

I met the other Peter, the Datuk of Music, also in an unlikely place. I was browsing in a music store one day and came across a book with a CD of songs composed by Peter Pragas. I asked for it to be played. When I heard his composition on piano, "Kanou Sumazau" (Let's dance in Kadazan). I knew I had to find this man. This song has remained the signature tune of the Radio Sabah Kadazan service till this day. As a tribute, RTM Sabah has been airing his composition since his passing.

 

Tracking down Peter ( left ) was not easy but I managed to locate his daughter, Jeanette, (now deceased) and flew to Kota Kinabalu to meet him. We met at a cafe where he was to jam with a group of young musicians. At last I thought I would hear Peter belt out his Kanou Sumazau. But it was not to be as the doyen of Sabah's music had injured his finger and was just contend to listen to his young charges.

 

I have since lost notes of my interview with Peter. But my friend, Joanna Funk (now based in Australia), who has put together a book on Sabah contemporary music and local musicians, has allowed me to share parts of her interview with Peter in 2009 which appears in her book and blog.

 

Born in Penang, Peter became an organist by the age of seven at a Catholic Church there. He came under the tutelage of a Professor Hoffman from Germany and Professor Francis Arul'de from India. In 1957, he joined Filem Negara as music director.

 

It was on a holiday to North Borneo as Sabah was then known that he fell in love with the music of the place, never to return to the peninsula again. He joined RTM Sabah for RM450 a month compared to the RM2,000 he was getting at Filem Negara. “I wasn't interested in the salary, because I was interested in the music.”

 

It was the sound of Kadazan music that lured Peter. "I found the music here so beautiful, but also very simple, " Peter told Joanna then.

 

"Their folk songs are beautiful but quite limited in range. They were pentatonic melodies (where five notes make up an octave). I imagined what it would be like to give them a chorus... to embellish and to make extensions to this native music."

 

Thus, the Kanou Sumazau was born. It has been played each morning at 7am over Radio Sabah ever since. So unmistakably Kadazan, just listening to it would prompt to get up and dance the sumazau, floating gently around like a bird.

 

His compositions of Chinese songs are equally evocative. Sabah fusion was born when Peter joined the sounds of the ‘bungkau’ (jawbone), ‘suling’ (bamboo flute), ‘sompoton’ (bamboo pipes) with Western instruments.

 

The growth of the tourism industry didn't particularly impressed the Datuk as the way forward for local musicians.

 

"Tourists? They are just satisfied getting a local CD. That's it."

 

The musician extraordinaire is not impressed by money either. “Don't worry about the money. You think of making the music first, and let the money take care of itself!”

 

Malaysia is blessed by these two great Peters to inspire us to be what it means to be truly Malaysian.

 

BOB TEOH retired recently as a mainstream editor. He was National Union of Journalists general-secretary from 1984 to 86.