Keeping the flame alive
MALAYSIANSKINI | Ramli Ibrahim is an iconic Malaysian, a top achiever in his field. Born in Kajang (on May 20, 1953) he has devoted his life to the cause of Indian classical dance.
Now aged 67, Ramli was a recipient of India's fourth-highest civilian award - the Padma Shri in January 2018 – for his work as a classical Odissi dancer and trainer, his Bharatanatyam performances and his role setting up of Sutra Dance Theatre in 1983.
Nor does he ever let up the intensity – Triple Frontiers, his next project which runs in March (27-29) sees him in the artistic director role, celebrating three female dance-makers who are making their presence felt in Odissi.
Born into a family with a sympathetic view of the arts (his father was a lecturer on Malay literature) Ramli studied engineering in Perth, Australia, and lived there for 14 years.
In the early days, he had to overcome opposition from religious fundamentalists who challenged his choice of vocation...
MALAYSIANSKINI | Ramli Ibrahim is an iconic Malaysian, a top achiever in his field. Born in Kajang (on May 20, 1953) he has devoted his life to the cause of Indian classical dance.
Now aged 67, Ramli was a recipient of India's fourth-highest civilian award - the Padma Shri in January 2018 – for his work as a classical Odissi dancer and trainer, his Bharatanatyam performances and his role setting up of Sutra Dance Theatre in 1983.
Nor does he ever let up the intensity – Triple Frontiers, his next project which runs in March (27-29) sees him in the artistic director role, celebrating three female dance-makers who are making their presence felt in Odissi.
Born into a family with a sympathetic view of the arts (his father was a lecturer on Malay literature) Ramli studied engineering in Perth, Australia, and lived there for 14 years.
In the early days, he had to overcome opposition from religious fundamentalists who challenged his choice of vocation.
But he persevered and also built up a devoted and loyal following.
While his parents were Umno loyalists, Ramli is hoping for more support from the arts from the new government. Neither is he shy about asking for some changes.
Here’s how Ramli sees things now – in his own words:
THERE IS DEVELOPMENT IN THE ARTS AND DANCE SCENE COMPARED TO WHEN I FIRST STARTED.
But I don't know whether there has been a quantum leap. Certainly, Sutra is not one of the favourites that receives funding. Not for a long, long time.
I feel the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry does not have a strong vision in terms of placing art and culture firmly as part of nation-building. I think a lot of the intangible areas in art and culture have been pushed aside. Where is our mak yong, silat, Chinese opera, the great literature that should come out from the Malay section of Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, for example?
A LOT OF MONEY DOES NOT GO TO THE ARTS OR THE ARTISTS THEMSELVES.
Instead, the money had gone towards maintaining the bureaucratic infrastructure and paying the salaries of the ministry's officers, rather than on the artistes and their works and having the vision on how to promote the arts and to empower the people.
This is the tragedy of what is happening now.
The previous government abandoned the arts and artistes for a long time - except for Permata, which was a pet project of Rosmah Mansor (wife of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak). They received at one stage RM85 million – and the rest of us received nothing at all.
Under the present government - the new Malaysia - they are so busy cleaning up other things, but as usual, arts and culture are on the back burner somewhere.
Everyone is claiming that there is no money, yet we hear that GLCs and directors are getting RM80,000 to RM100,000 a month. Groups like Cendana (Cultural Economy Development Agency) or Kakiseni do contribute RM3,000 to RM4,000 – but what can you do with RM4,000k? Less funding means the standards of excellence have also dropped down.
Somehow, we at Sutra are still able to sustain our activities over the years. I think the public has been our greatest supporters.
It’s amazing that our recent Ganjam performance had a full house and after paying everyone the minimum fees – we still ended up with only RM3,000 to RM4,000.
Sutra is an international company that needs to be seen to be as relevant outside Malaysia. Many people say Sutra is the best cultural ambassador of Malaysia – but we can’t travel!
WE ARE WAITING WITH BATED BREATH FOR VISIT MALAYSIA 2020.
How will the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry handle it? Where is the arts festival? Malaysia cannot just be just about business, it’s got to be a cultural experience! Where is the serious art? Creativity is being sustained by individuals who are basically charting their own narratives.
Every time in the arts we are doing something new – not just repeating ourselves – every new work is a journey. But because of the insecurities of funding, half of your creative energy is spent to make sure that the project not going to be a write-off.
I AM NOT A POLITICAL PERSON, BUT I AM POLITICALLY AWARE.
Many of my friends are political activists, like Siti Kasim, Ambiga Sreenevasan and Marina Mahathir.
I am aware of issues such as women’s rights, Orang Asli rights, but I do not belong to any political party.
I think we should put in place people we trust to do their job well. You need to find people who are the right fit for the job.
If you find people who are not completely interested, you have a situation where you have to keep justifying your work to scholars and bureaucrats. I need to be dancing – not spending more time justifying the meanings of my latest projects.
Specifically, for an effective solution, we sometimes need to change the political wheel.
WE HAVE TO REALLY CHANGE THE MINISTERS THAT ARE NOT FUNCTIONING.
We cannot move if we don’t have the right leaders. We have to bring new energy and vision. If you look at people working with Istana Budaya and Balai Seni Negara, there is a problem because some deadwood are not used to working and they are not passionate. We are waiting for the change of vision from the ministry.
I am not dancing right now, but I use my energy to urge them to help dancers. I need to preserve this culture.
PEOPLE THINK I AM STILL DANCING BUT NOW I AM AN ARTISTIC CHOREOGRAPHER.
I still give talks and motivations and give diversity to all various things. Apart from dancing, what I love the most is gardening and painting. I also have a very close relationship with nature and animals. I spend a lot of time with them and actually I don’t have a TV. I never had a TV set most of my life.
I KEEP REMOTIVATING MYSELF.
All artistic people all like that, because this is about more than dance, this is about your spirit. I ask young people – are you one of those who feel dance is a question of life and death - then only it’s for you.
You have to always be passionate about dance, you can’t think about the money. Usually, when there are many younger generations wanting to dance, I would ask why they want to. Usually, I don’t encourage them because it is very difficult and only the strongest and luckiest will be successful.
PEOPLE ASK ME TO MOVE OVERSEAS TO BE MORE APPRECIATED THERE.
This is my place. I am very naturally patriotic.
I am comfortable here whatever happens - I am here in this country to participate. I spent 13-14 years in Australia but it doesn't hit me - my spirit belongs to Malaysia. I also ask people who stay outside Malaysia - are you happy with the foreign culture? It took me 13 years in Australia to find myself. The art I am doing is the philosophy of finding myself, expressing myself.
MALAYSIANSKINI is a series on Malaysians you should know.
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