KOTA KINABALU, 11 October 2018 – Seventeen portrait paintings and illustrations from the PETRONAS Art Collection are currently on display at Sabah Art Gallery, here, capturing the individual qualities of Merdeka Award recipients and honouring their dedication and commitment to society.
Specially brought to Kota Kinabalu by Galeri PETRONAS, from its gallery at KLCC, Kuala Lumpur, The Merdeka Award: Celebrating the Culture of Excellence Exhibition is open to the public from 21 September to 9 November.
Assistant Minister of Local Government and Housing George Hiew Vun Zin represented Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Dr Jaujan Sambakong in gracing the official opening ceremony of the Exhibition earlier today and viewed the artworks, which feature a variety of artistic expressions and styles.
The artists – Jaafar Taib, Dato’ Azman Yusof, Mohamad Hj Hassan, Samsuddin Mohamed, Tang Yeok Kang, Loh Bok Lai, Jeganathan Ramachandram, Azman Othman, Mohd Nasir Baharudin, Amirudin Ariffin, Arif Fauzan Othman, Azad Daniel Haris, Gan Chin Lee, Hairani Mohammad, Long Thien Shih, Rosli Mat, Jeffry Lim, Nazmi Raman, M Amin Razak, Harun Fadzillah M Tajudin, Nelson Roche and Khairul Azwan – pushed their creative boundaries in producing the portraits that captured the personalities of the Merdeka Award recipients, whose remarkable deeds have contributed to shaping Malaysia’s intellectual, economic and cultural climate.
Merdeka Award 2017 recipient YM Datuk Seri Tengku Dr Zainal Adlin Tengku Mahamood gave a talk at the Exhibition launch on sustainability of the natural environment.
Assistant Minister of Local Government and Housing George Hiew Vun Zin launched the “Merdeka Award: Celebrating the Culture of Excellence” exhibition at Sabah Art Gallery
A walkthrough of the “Merdeka Award: Celebrating the Culture of Excellence” exhibition, which opens from 21 September to 9 November at the Sabah Art Gallery.
Merdeka Award 2017 recipient YM Datuk Seri Tengku Dr Zainal Adlin Tengku Mahamood giving a talk at the Exhibition launch on sustainability of Sabah’s natural environment.
Launched in August 2007, the Merdeka Award was established by its founders, PETRONAS, ExxonMobil and Shell. It is Malaysia’s most prestigious award for excellence, conferred to outstanding individuals and organisations that embody the
“Spirit of Merdeka” in their pursuit of excellence.
Since the award was first presented in 2008, a total of 51 individuals and two organisations have been honoured in five categories:
Education and Community;
Environment;
Health, Science and Technology;
Outstanding Scholastic Achievement; and
Outstanding Contribution to the People of Malaysia.
Among them are Emeritus Professor Ungku Abdul Aziz, the late Tun Fatimah Hashim, the late Tan Sri PG Lim, Dato’ Dr. Kenneth Yeang, Datin Paduka Mother Mangalam, YM Datuk Seri Tengku Dr Zainal Adlin Tengku Mahamood, Dr Timothy William, Hassan Muthalib, Emeritus Professor Tan Sri Datuk Dr Khoo Kay Kim and Professor Dr Rajah Rasiah.
In conjunction with the Exhibition, Galeri PETRONAS will organise a series of art appreciation programmes which include a masterclass with Professor Dr Baharuddin Arus of Universiti Malaysia Sabah, as well as art workshops with members of the Sabah Visual Art Society.
An indigenous Temuan tribe youth, Shahar Koyok, a recipient of the 2017
Merdeka Award Grant for International Attachment, will also be making a special appearance, in which he will be sharing his experiences as a resident at the National Art Gallery of Australia.
Integral to the corporate philosophy of interweaving excellence in business, technology and the arts, PETRONAS through Galeri PETRONAS, is committed to the promotion, development and preservation of the visual arts in realising its corporate social responsibility and inspiring thought-leadership.
Since it was established 25 years ago, Galeri PETRONAS continues to play an increasingly important role as the artistic consciousness of PETRONAS, providing a balance in contributing towards the development of a more culturally progressive society.