STILL feeling proud about Saturday’s opening ceremony of the 29th Kuala Lumpur Sea Games? The closing, which is on Aug 30, is expected to be a majestic affair as it also celebrates Malaysia’s 60th National Day.
Film director Saw Teong Hin, 55, who is also the creative director of the Games’ ceremonies, said the level of excitement would double for the closing ceremony in conjunction with the two celebrations.
“Audiences will be blown away with another exciting round of colour, culture and creativity.
“Not only are we making the end of 2017 Kuala Lumpur Sea Games, we are also counting down to Merdeka.
“Thus, it will be a meaningful show. I expect it to be a blast,” he told the New Straits Times yesterday.
Saw was careful not to reveal the details.
Admitting he had outdone himself this time, Saw said he had been getting a lot of text messages following the Games’ opening at the National Stadium, Bukit Jalil.
Saw, who directed Puteri Gunung Ledang and You Mean The World To Me, was touched and humbled by the steady stream of well-wishers, who hailed his work as “the best Malaysia has had”.
“It’s the biggest production of my life and I oversaw it from the stadium’s control room. It was beautiful seeing everyone coming together.”
Congratulating his teammates for putting their hearts and souls into the ceremony, Saw said he only realised how huge his task was when they started working after Chinese New Year in February.
“We rehearsed round the clock every week right up to the final weekend before the Games. This ceremony is my national duty to represent Malaysia’s strongest asset: its unity in diversity.”
He said it was his labour of love to remind Malaysians that there was beauty in every culture.
“Malaysia is a melting pot of people and cultures, but most of us don’t know there is great similarity between them.
“In our show, we put many ethnic groups together, marching to the same beat, displaying the true essence of our nation.”
He said many were pleased with the cultural performances of the Orang Asli, the indigenous peoples of Sabah and Sarawak, Minangkabau, Eurasians and the Baba Nyonya community.
Saw’s biggest challenge was to merge computer technology on the stadium’s giant stage with the 6,000-odd participants.
“It is never easy to synchronise a sea of humans with technology.”
He said the key to the ceremony’s success was his team’s passion, determination and optimism.
“We have the Malaysia Boleh! spirit and, thus, we did our best. Look at what we’ve achieved together.”