Pesta Perdana 2023 – Celebrating the excellence of Malay entertainment in Singapore

Singapore, 17 June 2023 – The highly anticipated Pesta Perdana 2023 live show took place earlier this evening in a glamourous event honouring the crème de la crème of Malay entertainment in Singapore. Aptly themed “Epilogue of Dreams” to signify the awards as the culmination and recognition of everyone’s hard work, the 17th edition of Mediacorp’s biennial Malay awards show celebrated 18 recognitions across the Performance and Popularity categories as well as the esteemed “Lifetime Achievement” award.

Presented by WARNA 942 DJ A B Shaik as well as famed artistes Farhana M Noor and Khairudin Samsudin, the evening paid tribute to the artistic excellence of local talents and saw several productions emerging as big winners this year. Acclaimed title Identiti continued its winning streak from the Pesta Perdana 2023 Gala Dinner held last week as its lead actor Norman Ishak bagged the “Best Actor in a Leading Role – Drama Series” for his anti-hero role in this thriller centred around identity theft. Siti Hajar Gani also won the “Best Actress in a Supporting Role – Drama Series” for her realistic portrayal of a former police officer, bringing the show’s total wins across both evenings to five.

Heartfelt series Bidadari, centred around the exhumation of the Bidadari Cemetery, also continued its triumphant run following its “Best Drama Series” win last week with a series of acting accolades among the cast. Established artiste Suhaillah Salam, seasoned veteran Rafaat Hamzah, and child actress Bella Putri clinched the “Best Actress in a Leading Role – Drama Series”, “Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Drama Series” and “Best Young Star” awards respectively for their moving performances in the show. But that was not all for Suhaillah as she was also presented with the “Best Actress in a Leading Role – Drama Special/ Anthology” award for her portrayal of Amelia, the “motherly eldest child” to her orphaned siblings, in the touching Hari Raya Haji telemovie Tiga Hari Ke Korban.

On the hosting front, renowned artiste Era Farida took home the “Best Host – Entertainment” trophy for the singing competition Berani Nyanyi?, which received raving reviews from audiences. In a similar category, the all-rounder Fauzie Laily won “Best Host – Info-Ed” for Gotong Royong S2, a series which saw Fauzie cycling around local neighbourhoods and completing community projects such as cleaning up the waterways of Kallang, in a bid to rediscover the “kampung spirit” in modern day Singapore.

Meanwhile, Shafie Aziz and Huda Ali reigned in the hotly contested popularity categories as they were named the “Most Popular Male and Female Personality” respectively after claiming the hearts and votes of audiences. The “Most Popular Programme” award, which is determined by viewership and ratings, was presented to the novel singing competition Berani Nyanyi?.  With its fresh approach of uncovering hidden talents among popular public personalities, the series was a hit among audiences, who were treated to exciting battles of singing prowess and stage presence over the course of eight weeks. 

A special "Lifetime Achievement" award was also bestowed to acclaimed writer-actor M Saffri A Manaf for his strong contributions to the local Malay entertainment scene throughout his illustrious 50-year career. Among Saffri's notable works include his first radio script Sireh Pinang Sudah Dihantar, Pinangan Sudah Diterima as well as popular radio programmes Warung Mak Limah and Secawan Kopi. He received the accolade from Guest of Honour Zaqy Mohamad, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Manpower.

Please refer to Annex A for the full list of winners announced at the Pesta Perdana 2023 live show. Winners announced at the Pesta Perdana 2023 Gala Dinner are available here.

Awards aside, the star-studded evening was also lit with the lustre of local and regional stars who set the stage on fire with their performances that were interspersed between the various award presentations. Other than the unique combination of Juara Mic Junior S2 semi-finalist Adrianna Putri, Anugerah 2017 runner-up Syakirah Noble and classical vocalist Lauren Yeo who showcased their chemistry via an uplifting medley of classic tunes, the boyish Singapore Idol Hady Mirza also took to the stage with a special collaboration with local ensemble Nadi Singapura and dazzled the crowd with a catchy percussion rendition of Apokalips. In elevating the excitement to an all-time high, Singapore Idol Taufik Batisah and Malaysia Idol Jaclyn Victor also performed a special mashup of I Dream and Gemilang.

Angeline Poh, Chief Customer & Corporate Development Officer, Mediacorp said: “This year’s Pesta Perdana was a truly fitting celebration of the achievements of our talents across the industry who have worked very hard to bring us quality content and passionate performances. Congratulations to all winners for your well-deserved accomplishments. Your outstanding talents have shone on our screens. Let’s continue to create inspiring content that will touch the hearts of audiences!”

The Pesta Perdana 2023 live show, curated highlights and winner interviews are available on demand on mewatch and Mediacorp Entertainment on YouTube. Fans can also relive the evening’s exciting events in a repeat on mewatch and Suria on Friday, 23 June 2023, 8.30pm to 11.30pm.

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Media contact
Nurul Atiqah
Communications Associate
Atiqah.MY@mediacorp.com.sg

About Mediacorp
Mediacorp is Singapore’s national media network and largest content creator. Its purpose is to create engaging and trusted content, as well as to connect communities and inspire people. Mediacorp engages over three million people in Singapore daily across four languages on its digital platforms including mewatch, melisten and CNA.asia, six TV channels and 11 radio stations. Beyond Singapore, Mediacorp also has a growing international audience through CNA and content distributed across markets.

With a focus on nurturing talent and growing the sector, the company is committed to investing in nation-wide initiatives like Star Search, Anugerah, Yaar Antha Star and SPOP, commissioning a wide variety of work from local content creators, and collaborating with institutes of higher learning. As Singapore’s first local Multi-Channel Network in partnership with YouTube, Mediacorp is also committed to developing a network of digital content creators.

For advertisers, Mediacorp has partnered industry-leading brands like ESPN, Mothership, theAsianparent, VICE, YouTube and 99.co to form the Mediacorp Digital Network in offering more effective content-driven solutions.

Mediacorp is the recipient of industry accolades including New York Festivals, World Media Festivals, PromaxBDA (World and Asia) and Asian Academy Creative Awards.

For more information, please visit mediacorp.sg.

Annex A – Winners of Performance, Popularity and “Lifetime Achievement” awards

Performance categories

Popularity categories

“Lifetime Achievement” award

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