Nurse promoting Sabah and its culture through songs
KOTA KINABALU: A singing sensation from Sabah is making waves over social media with multilingual ballads in Kadazandusun, English, Chinese and Bahasa Melayu.
Born of mixed parentage and currently working as a nurse in Singapore, Sheron Tan said her mother composed most of the songs that blended both Kadazandusun and Chinese culture.
“She encouraged me to sing to tell people about Sabah,” says Tan, who initially produced the songs for fun.
The 23-year-old initially wasn’t sure if people would accept or even like them.
“But after a couple of the songs, especially one titled Bye Bye came out, we received requests to do more and that got my mum and me excited,” says Tan
She still finds it hard to believe Bye Bye has gotten more than quarter million views on YouTube.
Her other songs garnering attention are Ika No Id Ginawo (If you are in my heart) and Nung Haro Ginawo Ku (If I have feelings).
Tan, whose mother is Rungus and father Chinese, considers herself fortunate to come from a culturally diverse background and a family of singers.
“We all love to sing especially gospel songs and we have frequent gatherings to sing,” she says.
Tan worked with a professional videographer for her music videos,
which can be found on https://www. youtube.com/user/littleshinnysheron.
She added that the songs not only promoted Sabah’s unique languages but encouraged people to be proud of their roots and mother tongues.
Seeing such encouraging response to her music, Tan is now working towards producing her first album.
“I hope through my songs, people will know about Sabah, its beautiful scenery and great people,” said Tan, who was born in Tamparuli.
She lived there for four years before the family moved to her father’s hometown in Johor.
Despite living away from Sabah, she still regarded herself as a Sabahan and her family often returned to the state, especially for the Kaamatan festival in May.