ON the night of April 14, 1986, it was, perhaps, the first time that Chow Kit Road in Kuala Lumpur was filled with a sea of people.
It was the night when Malaysia's No. 1 entertainer, the late Datuk Sudirman Arshad, performed at a mega concert, which drew 100,000 people from all walks of life.
Those who came did not mind being sandwiched by the crowd as the show was the only time they could watch Sudirman perform for free.
Some climbed trees, roofs and signboards of shophouses just to catch a glimpse of Sudirman, who made an unusual entrance at the start of the concert.
It was reported that the mega show had led to bumper-to-bumper traffic on Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz and Jalan Raja Alang in Kampung Baru. The diminutive Sudirman charmed the audience and everyone just fell in love with his entertaining and bubbly personality.
At the three-hour concert, he performed his famous song, Chow Kit Road, named after the venue of the concert.
This was at the opening, when he made a spectacular entrance onto the stage from a fire engine's Simon Snorkel skylift.
There were spotlights everywhere.
The singer extraordinaire also performed hit songs like Kenali Malaysia Cintai Malaysia and Apa Khabar Orang Kampung. Behind his smile and likeable personality on stage, Sudirman was serious and meticulous when it came to work.
Sudirman's former creative assistant, Shuib Taib, described him as a creative, compassionate and caring person.
"When it came to work, he took it seriously. He was sharp and he did not want anyone to mess around with him.
"He was the singing lawyer. He could cut you to shreds with just words. That was him. But behind all that, he was friendly, compassionate, caring and creative. He had our best interests at heart.
"He was the best boss I have ever worked for and until today, I feel honoured and privileged to have worked for him," he told the New Straits Times.
Shuib said he knew Sudirman in 1990 and the singer hired him on May 13, 1991. Throughout his time with Sudirman, Shuib said he gave ideas for his shows and business, which was then called Sudirman Usaha Dagang Industry.
Shuib also represented Sudirman at meetings or events if the singer was not able to make it.
"Sudir told me — 'if I cannot attend the meeting, you attend it for me and if it's good for you, then it should be good for me. If it's not good for you, then it's not good for me'," recalled Shuib, who was also a former specialist writer with the NST.
Although his time with Sudirman was relatively short, Shuib felt it was the most memorable moment in his life and he would always cherish it.
He thanked Singaporean singer, actress and entertainer Anita Sarawak for introducing him to Sudirman which led him to have that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of working under Sudirman Productions.
Sudirman fell ill in September 1991 and died on Feb 22, 1992 at the tender age of 37.