know it’s International Artist Day today?

> To commemorate the occasion, we remember several Malaysians who are icons in their fields. > The landscape of Malaysian cinema would be very different without the late Tan Sri Teuku Zakaria Teuku Nyak Putih, better known as P. Ramlee. He was a singer, actor, director and producer of 66 films and more than 360 songs. > The late Puan Sri Amar Salmah Ismail, also known as Primadona Saloma, married P. Ramlee in 1961. In 1978, she was given the title First National Songbird (Biduanita Pertama Negara). > The late Datuk Sudirman Arshad was dubbed the ‘Singing Lawyer’ and shot to fame after winning Bintang RTM in 1976. In 1989 he was proclaimed Asia’s Best Entertainer after performing at the Royal Albert Hall in London. > The late Yasmin Ahmad’s films struck a chord with viewers. After a slew of heartwarming television commercials, Yasmin’s career as a director took off with the release of her first film, Rabun, in 2002. > Poet and novelist Datuk Abdul Samad Mohamed Said, better known by his pen name A. Samad Said, was named National Laureate or Sasterawan Negara in 1986. His poem, The Dead Crow, was translated into English and included in the Malaysian lower secondary school English literature curriculum. > Dancer and choreographer Datuk Ramli Ibrahim set up the Sutra Dance Theatre in 1983 to train new dancers and has helped expand the audience for classical Indian dance in Malaysia. > The late Datuk Ibrahim Hussein, affectionately known as Ib, was Malaysia’s most renowned artist whose reputation extended beyond our borders. He set up the Ibrahim Hussein Museum and Cultural Foundation in Langkawi to develop and advance art and culture in Malaysia.