Pop divas Anita Sarawak and Rahimah Rahim are the first singers in the SWHF.
According to the Singapore daily, the virtual SWHF was launched by the Singapore Council of Women’s Organisations (SCWO) in 2014 to recognise outstanding contributions by women to Singapore.
The singers will be among seven women added to the record books this year, thus joining the ranks of 133 Singaporean women inducted over the past three years. The women come from diverse backgrounds, including lawyers, doctors, adventurers and scientists.
Singapore’s Dick Lee lauded the decision to have Anita and Rahimah’s names added to the SWHF because it showed that pop music was part of the country’s culture.
“It’s time to accept that popular culture is part of our culture in Singapore,” said Lee, who is a composer and performer.
Jeremy Monteiro, a veteran musician popular on both sides of the causeway, shared his thoughts on the two women, telling ST: “Anita has done Singapore proud, blazing the trail for others, and Rahimah has been a wonderful mentor to me.”
Rahimah, 61, told the daily that she will perform at the gala dinner night on March 24, where SCWO patron Mary Tan, who is the wife of Singapore President Tony Tan, will present a special trophy to her and the other women, or their representiatives.
“I’m truly honoured to be selected. I’m usually speechless, but at the ceremony, my speech will be through the songs I choose for the night,” she was quoted as saying.
According to ST, Anita, who is based in Las Vegas, Nevada, in the United States, will be unable to attend the ceremony.
Anita, whose real name is Ithnaini, is the daughter of actor-director S Roomai Noor and actress Siput Sarawak, both of whom were legends in the Malay film industry of the 1950s and 60s. Her half-sister Noorkumalasari was also a popular singer in the 1970s and 1980s.