It was a glitzy affair. Many were dressed to the nines, clinking their glasses of iced tea and wishing aloud that dinner were part of the event. T'was the 3rd BOH Cameronian Arts Awards (CAA) and the theme was "DramaNya!". A gathering of the performing arts community to recognise their accomplishments in the year gone by, the CAA was certainly much anticipated and celebrated. But the night was not just about beaming winners and witty presenters. Amidst the moving acceptance speeches and jokes on fashion, flies and fellatio, the CAA was also the subject of another sort of drama, one that didn't quite end as the curtains drew to a close that night.

This drama involved vocal (but not when it came to disclosing their identities) beings who decried the whole event as only an opportunity for the organisers to reward those in their own little circle of friends; the selection of nominees and winners was purportedly but a groupies' outing to celebrate their own.

Friends and enemies

From the moment the list of nominees were announced, Kakiseni.com , the arts and entertainment portal cum organiser of the CAA was bombarded with allegations of "cronyism" (yes, this word was actually used) by various anonymous contributors to the readers' comments section of their website.

To illustrate:

"After three years one would have hoped that the people at Kakiseni would get it right. Unfortunately, it's becoming blatantly obvious that these awards are not for the industry but for those among us who are friends of friends of Kakiseni. The nominations continue to be laughable and an insult to the performing arts community. So please, let's stop the charade and cease to refer to them as industry awards. Perhaps a more apt name would be 'The Annual One For You and One For Me Awards of the Friends of Friends of Kakiseni.' At least then, we can all be in on the joke!"

Signing off as pissedoff@pissedoff.com, this angry camper joined many others who left their acerbic two cents' worth on the site. The accusations ranged from Kakiseni conspiring with judges to choose only a certain group of people as winners, allowing nominees to also serve as judges of their own performances and to deciding on pocketing the money intended for winners by not having any nominees in a few categories.

Inclined to laugh it all off initially, I paused for a moment and decided to speak to the organisers, nominees and judges to see what they thought about the whole hullaballoo. Looking for a frank, no-holds barred conversation, I met with a grand total of four nominees and three judges, apart from a representative from Kakiseni.

"If you ask me whether I understand how these accusations of cronyism could come about, I would say yes. It does beg a few questions when you see the same faces being nominated always," Kakiseni director Kathy Rowland responded to my question.

"But, I have to say that these allegations are extremely unfair. For example, we have clearly stated that those involved in a certain production we are looking at nominating will not be allowed to judge it."

Which is true, as Kakiseni has issued statements which explain the judging process in detail, and true enough, this point is highlighted alongside various others. "In fact, we have more examples of judges not having productions they work on making it to the final nominees list. So, saying that they go out on a limb to tinker with the results to benefit them personally is baseless."

How involved were the organisers in the judging process?

"We had nothing to do with short-listing nominees and tabulating the final scores at all. Everything was left to the judges."

How diverse are the backgrounds of the judges?

"In selecting the judges, we look for people from these four broad categories: academic, practitioner, critic and informed audience. It is also important for us to have representatives from different vernacular theatre backgrounds. Unfortunately, Malaysia is unlike other countries where a big audience base makes for people well-versed, but not particularly active, in the performing arts. And do you know how small the industry is in Malaysia? It is already a challenge to even come up with your panel, what more to have them in the country at the same time to catch all the eligible shows. And these people are all volunteers, by the way. We just don't have the resources to pay them, and the commitment required of a paid position is a bit much to ask."

If having judges attend all eligible shows is quite a task, have they experienced situations where there were no judges present at a show?

"Admittedly, in 2002 when we first started out this did happen, and few performances had to be disqualified because of this."

What did you do about this?

"We decided later to set a minimum of five judges to view each performance. We have also resorted to allowing the judges to view recordings, which we hope to phase out eventually. You know, it's a different atmosphere from actually being present at the show 'live'."

"If you want to assess the role of the awards, it should be done with respect to the bigger picture. In this small and young industry of ours, the names that crop up a lot at the awards are an indication of the arts scene in that particular year. The pool is so small that it just turns out that way."

"This year for example there was a lot of understandable disappointment due to the decision to not field any nominees in the Best Original Script in Chinese. Of course there were voices accusing us of being unfair, deliberately sidelining Chinese theatre and what have you. But if you look at the 2003 awards, Chinese theatre dominated the scene and emerged champions in many categories, but of course nobody cares to remember that. With an industry so small, you have to be prepared for fluctuating activity every year."

And the nominees are

Chomping on a cekodok , P (who preferred not to be identified) looked through the CAA program booklet, checking off the names of judges in the dance category that he recognised. Of a total of twelve names, he had never heard of three.

"How can it be that I was judged by people that I have never even heard of? Having these unknowns makes you wonder about the competence and capability of them to carry out the task."

Do you have any other more capable names in mind as you say this?

"Yes I do. There aren't many, but they are there."

Having won two awards at this year's event, wouldn't you fall under this 'crony' category?

"Me? Not at all. In fact, I didn't expect to win. To me the judges (that I know) are from their own little clique. I expected them to have preconceived notions of what they wanted to see in a performance, being established figures in the industry."

Somewhat vaguely, he added: "Judges should ideally be from a higher level, with a wider perspective to critic and appreciate."

Considering themselves living examples of the non-practice of cronyism in the judging process, Izlyn Ramli and Sharon Lam were very clear on how they perceived the accusations.

"I am talking here as someone who isn't even small fish in the industry. Do I think cronyism exists in the industry? Yes, but I don't think it's a situation that can be avoided. There are simply not enough players in the industry. However, I don't believe that it exists at as high a level as has been made to appear," said Sharon.

"I disagree on the use of the word 'cronyism' in this situation. The word bears connotations of a corrupt situation providing not well-earned benefits, and this is not true for the arts community in Malaysia," she added.

"If we had ten Mac Chans and only one kept winning every year, then that would be something fishy. But we don't, do we?"

The story is that Mac Chan was the only nominee in the Best Lighting Design category, for his work on five separate productions.

"Those comments on the website are there just to instigate conversation. I mean, they can't even sign off with their own name. It's always just about providing a problem, but never a solution. Such a Malaysian syndrome."

"Do people truly believe that the performing arts community is that unwelcoming? I for example was a nobody, yet they took me in on the set design team," she said in reference to the nominated entry she worked on.

"What the industry needs is refreshing, and for this we need the media and new faces to enter the scene. As it is we're growing by half a step each year. Instead of harping on the sad state of affairs, why don't the media look out for new faces and highlight their achievements as a mode of encouragement? I mean, we can talk over as much kopi O as we want, but that won't solve anything."

In the middle of the interview an established set designer happened to pass by, and when asked who was in charge of lighting in his latest project, the opening ceremony of a brand spanking new arts venue in town, he replied with a grin: "Mac Chan lahSiapa lagi?"

The bad guys are...

The most startling revelation was finding out that the accusations on the website were made by people from within the industry. And here I was thinking it was a case not unlike those bathroom singers among us who scratch themselves and go tut-tut when Siti Nurhaliza grabs another Anugerah.

"It is absolutely true that these comments were made by insiders," concurred Izlyn. "You don't hear the general public complaining, do you? At least, leave- lah your name when you say all of this."

"It was an honor to be nominated; I'd like to think it was on merit. It's so sad that some people were petty and ungracious," she lamented, talking about her nomination in the category of Best Solo Performance: Voice.

"I think that what Kakiseni is doing is great in trying to recognize artists. They do make an effort to widen their reach, by including groups such as Istana Budaya and Petronas Performing Arts Group. If there really was going to be cronyism, they (the organizers) could have just stuck to one theatre company, no?"

With regard to her part-time involvement in the field, she said: "There are definitely a lot of opportunities for us newbies to be involved in the arts, those of us who may not be able to be involved full-time. It would be very unfair to say that only 'cronies' work together without giving opportunities for new faces, as I see in my own situation."

Winner of the Mandarin Oriental Most Promising Artist Award, Jerome Kugan had a more cheerful approach to the whole controversy.

"I think a bit scandal is kind of fun. Otherwise, the bored invitees at CAA would have nothing to bitch about in between the award presentations. If I'm not mistaken, even some of the judges bitch about it," he replied through e-mail.

Do you think you could understand where these commenters are coming from, so to speak?

"I think it's important to note how/where these accusations were aired and by whom (whether they wrote as themselves or under a pseudonym). The ill-mannered potshots that one can find on the Kakiseni comments sections are a bit sad, because they're too malicious to be taken seriously."

"As I see it, if these accusations were made by arts practitioners, then they should realise that it's imbecilic to have to resort to such below-the-belt tactics. (Then again, that's the democratisation of idiocy on the Internet.) On the other hand, critics who frame their arguments clearly, courteously and within context will make me pick up the matter more seriously. And if they're witty about it, that's even better. At any rate, if it is true that CAA is crony-istic, then shouldn't that be a cause for celebration? By 2020, everyone will eventually get one (or three)!"

"But what people must understand is that the Malaysian (or more accurately, the KL) arts community is a very small and rather visible community. Everyone, even the most obscure/far flung arts practitioner, is connected to the core practitioners in one way or another. People are picked for jobs because they're good at it. You must understand that the arts can be extremely thankless; most practitioners do it because they feel strongly about it."

After talking to the nominees, it was time to face the judges. What do they have to say about this? Would I be accused as the nosy reporter (as if there's another variety) fuelling controversy, sinister laugh et al?

Next: The judges

Adriana Nordin Manan is glad that Rentakini has no section for reader's comments, though she welcomes them at adriana@malaysiakini.com . She enjoys being the resident drama queen in the office and insists that she's nobody's crony.