Photo shows Khatijah (right) and Zara striking a pose for the camera.
By JT
KOTA KINABALU: “Thank you for being with us ‘Legends’ tonight. Keep going with your music. You will certainly go far.”
Dato’ Khadijah Ibrahim offered these words of encouragement to Sabah’s budding saxophonist Zara Goh-Flintoft after the latter’s performance at the invitation of the singing legend at the Majlis Makan Malam Amal Legends Charity Gala Concert held at the Sabah International Convention Centre (SICC) on Friday night.
Only 17, and having graced the stage on numerous occasions locally and outside the state, Zara captivated the audience when she played “Sinaran”, a timeless hit (popularised by Malaysia’s Queen of Jazz Dato’ Sheila Majid), on her saxophone at the concert.
Khadijah recalled having performed a duet with Zara on the song “Getaran Jiwa”, a classic evergreen Malay song by P. Ramlee, at a fund-raising concert in Sabah in 2024.
“She has the potential to develop further as an upcoming musician. That is why I am giving her the opportunity to share the stage with Malaysian legends, including Dato’ Hattan and Dato’ Ramli Sarip. The experience is a good resume,” she said.
On her future plan, Khatijah said she is planning to hold another concert most likely in July 2027 as a tribute to Tan Sri Ahmad Nawab who is Malaysia’s legendary music maestro. “It would be great if Zara could play one or two songs composed by the legend. Why not? We can portray her again,” the Queen of Soul enthused.
At the Legends Concert, Khatijah serenaded the audience with her rendition of “Sabar Menanti”, also composed by Ahmad Nawab. Since 1978, the songstress has created 19 albums in Malay and English, including her international hit “Malaysia Truly Asia” (composed by Ahmad Nawab), which became the tourism anthem for Malaysia.
According to her, part of the proceeds from the concert would be channelled to the Welfare Fund of Persatuan Karyawan Malaysia (Malaysian Artistes Association).
