..is one artist I will never forget for the rest of my life. He is one true artist who was so passionate in his work and really loved and cared for his fans. His voice was not perfect and not the best but he sung with his heart and soul, and his stage performances were the best ever. He had a storyline drawn up for every single performance, he was a perfectionist and the "asal boleh" attitude was never in his dictionary.
Sudirman Haji Arshad took part in a singing competition in Malaysia called Bintang RTM in the year 1976. At that time, I was in form one in Sekolah Menengah Aminuddin Baki, Johor Bahru. My best friends and I were so in love with him. We would talked about him all the time in school. He won the competition with his songs Seruling Bambu and Big Spender. Sudir was in University of Malaya, studying Law. I wrote a letter to him.
A year later, in 1977, when I was already in form two, a teacher told me that there was a letter for me in the school`s office. When I opened the letter, it was from SUDIR, he wrote me a four page letter in his own hand-writing, with a photo of him signed. He said he was sorry for the late reply, it was because he had taken my letter and kept it in his drawer to reply quickly but then he was so busy he had forgotten, and the moment he realised it, he quickly replied. He was so friendly and wrote all the good things, like advising me to concentrate on my studies, to work hard and to achieve the best in life for my parents and myself. He was the BEST. He never took any advantage on his fans. No matter what happened in his life, and no matter what people said about him, he will always have a part in my heart. I LOVE U Abang Sudir! You were the best Number One artist in Malaysia, and will always be..
The existing number one artist in Malaysia, is no where near his league..
SUDIR left us on February 22, 1992. His most meaningful song was Salam Terakhir..(lyrics by Puan Habsah Hassan)
Sampaikan salam buat semua
Salam terakhir salam teristimewa
Kepada kau yang tersayang
Pada teman yang ku kenang
Pemergian ku ini tak dirancang
Usah bertanya mengapa aku
Mengucap salam terakhir kepada mu
Kerna waktu berputaran
Bimbang tak berkesempatan
Melahirkan kerinduan terhadapmu
Demi sebuah kenyataan
Yang amat menyakitkan
Aku yang tidak berdaya
Hanya berserah padaNya
Salam akhir
Salam yang teristimewa
BersamaNya ku memohon keampunan
MelaluiNya ku beri kemaafan
Kepadamu
Andainya aku punya waktu
Masih ku ingin mengulangi semula
Saat indah bersama mu
Sayang tak berkesempatan
Abadikan saja salam ku di ingatan
Salam ku yang terakhir..
AL-FATIHAH
Sudirman Haji Arshad
25 May 1954 - 22 February 1992
