The Sunday Star
August 27, 2006
A host of people have been working non-stop to ensure Siti Nurhaliza and Datuk K’s wedding party in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow unfolds like a fairytale. But come the night, none will be more instrumental than the Master of Ceremonies in ensuring everything proceeds as planned. KEE HUA CHEE speaks to the man with the mighty task.
THE big party to celebrate the nuptials of pop princess Siti Nurhaliza and her beau, Datuk Khalid Mohd Jiwa, is at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre tomorrow night and it has all the makings of a dream event: the bride and groom will arrive in style and make their way to a fairytale-garden dais and together with their guests, be entertained to a concert by top local stars.
No doubt there has been precise planning, careful orchestration and repeated rehearsals to ensure that the eventunfolds on cue. But come the night, the task of ensuring that everything proceeds according to plan will fall on the shoulders of Ishak Nengah, a veteran emcee of many high-brow events, who was specially picked to be the Master of Ceremonies.
Known for his smooth delivery, dulcet tones and witty repartee, Ishak has emceed countless entertainment shows, concerts, live broadcasts, reality shows and variety programmes. He was also the Master of Ceremonies for the wedding of the Prime Minister’s daughter Nori Abdullah, as well as for the nuptials of former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s children, Mukhriz, Mokhzani and Marina.
Obviously holding court in a roomful of dignitaries and celebrities is nothing new to Ishak, but believe it or not, he still has butterflies in his stomach over the big event tomorrow. Ishak and co-emcee Zakiah Annas, who is a TV3 presenter and host of the crime series 999, have had to work closely with wedding planner Datuk Shah Reza as the ceremony will be steeped in tradition and protocol.
Rulers and VVIPs must be addressed formally, so a script had to be formulated in advance. (With a bit of prodding, he reveals that the groom will be addressed as Datuk Khalid and his wife as Siti Nurhaliza.)
Emceeing the launch of the late Datin Paduka Seri Endon Mahmood’s book, The Nyonya Kebaya, last year.“Siti’s wedding will be very challenging as many VVIPs are present and we have to strike a fine balance – it must be suitably solemn but not boring. Zakiah and I must be commanding enough to make people sit up, listen and stop chattering. But we also don’t want to sound officious and preachy. Neither can we be flippant, irreverent or too casual,’’ Ishak says.
So despite the script, the emcees will have to “go with the flow’’ and leave room for a certain amount of ad-libbing. Guests can look forward to an exchange of pantuns as well as light-hearted banter between Zakiah and Ishak,
“If you ask me how and when we ad-lib, I wouldn’t know (how to explain). I will only know when the moment comes. We have already gone through the schedule of events so by the grace of God, everything will flow smoothly tomorrow night.”
Zakiah, too, is keeping her fingers crossed that all goes according to plan: “I have worked with Ishak before so tomorrow should be a breeze. We know each other’s style. We do well as a team as there is a natural rapport.’’
According to Ishak, the secret to successful emceeing is simply to not let his nerves get the better of him.
“As the old-timers tell me, it is normal and even essential for me to feel slightly nervous. If I don’t, then I have no more feeling for my job and it’s time for me to move on to something else. The adrenalin must flow in me and only nervousness can create that adrenalin rush!” says the 53-year-old who began his career as journalist in 1972 with the New Straits Times before moving to PR agency Eric White in 1977. In 1981, he went to London to work for the Malay section of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) World Service.
”I never dreamed I would one day make a living out of emceeing, as I was painfully shy in school,’’ he tells. “My first emcee job of sorts was when I was with Eric White Associates. It was a cocktail reception and someone’s car was blocking the entrance. My boss shoved the mike at me and told me to ask the owner to move the vehicle. I was terrified and shook like a leaf. But he was my boss, so I took a deep breath and spoke loudly, clearly and slowly ... and I remember thinking ‘This is easy’.’’
And quite simply, that was the start of his many stints with microphone in hand: “Some time later, I had to speak on the PA on a press trip on a bus and I discovered I liked it. Of course people always say I just like hearing my own voice!” he quips.
His four-year stint with the BBC reinforced his interest in his new vocation. “It was different in the studio as I didn’t have to relate to a live audience but the experience was invaluable. When I returned to KL, I joined Goodyear and continued to emcee at all their functions.”
Guests who enjoyed his easy style then asked him to host their events and the jobs snowballed from there, but all that ground to a halt when he joined Indah Water and then MISC in the 1990s. He made up for it by being a part-time newsreader for TV3, but in 2002 decided to give up the perks of corporate-dom to establish Ishak Nengah PR Services. He is now enjoying life to the hilt and says that on a good week, he gets two or three emceeing jobs.
Ishak Nengah and Lorraine Hahn of CNN International’s regional chat show, Talk Asia, hosting the F1 Ice Gala Dinner held during Formula One season last year.”If I am sole emcee, my job is marginally easier as I can speak directly to the crowd. If I have a co-emcee, then we must co-ordinate and rehearse more. We have to know our turns. If not, we end up speaking simultaneously or cutting into each other’s speech. That can be messy. It’s much easier if two emcees have worked together and know each other’s style and mannerisms.’’
And what if there is a clash of personalities between two people who have to work together?
“A professional should have no ego. Even if there were personal differences, theprofessional emcees would have to cast them aside, support each other and cover each other’s little mistakes. We are not the stars, we announce the stars! There is no room for emcees behaving like prima donnas,’’ he says matter-of-factly.
Still, despite the best planning and coordination, some events still bear witness to befuddled emcees and glaring boo-boos. His many years in the industry have taught Ishak the necessity to lay down some very basic “ground rules’’ to avoid such mishaps.
“Rule Number One: I only take orders from one designated person. Datuk K, Siti and Datuk Shah Reza have agreed to this and will appoint one person to instruct me. I will only obey this person so if anything goes wrong, there is no finger pointing. I don’t want any well-meaning VIP, close friend or relative coming to me and asking me to say this or that. Any last minute changes must come from this designated person, the floor manager.”
And the second rule? “I make sure all names and titles are properly written down! Even if I know the person, his or her name will be typed clearly on my script. I have seen cases when the emcees’ mind goes blank and he can’t remember the name of his own relative. Even if I think I can remember Siti’s name, I will still write it down to play safe!”
Then there are the faces to remember. “I work closely with the organiser who points out who is who so when I call the name, I know the face. I know how most VIPs look like but if I don’t, I try to find out who they are and where they are seated.”
And this being the Wedding of the Year, it will be broadcast live on TV3 – and this just means
extra pressure to make sure he doesn’t fumble his lines!
“Usually the camera will focus on us at the beginning as we announce the arrival of the VVIPs, so we are very aware that the camera is on us constantly. We must be presentable at all times since we don’t know when the camera might zoom in on us. It is important to be alert all the time and not lose track of what’s happening around us – who is it who thought this job is glamorous?’’ he jokes.
Well, like I say, there must be some price to pay for being in the thick of action at the most anticipated event of the year!
