Remembering Pak Zubir Said in Satay Club Game

If you haven't read about his life then this short video clip from the TV documentary called "My Gradfather's Road" is worth watching. Thanks to Dr Joe Peters for saving it on his Youtube channel.

In my Satay Club game, I have added him as one of the customers in Satay Club. This decision is not a trivial one because he really did patronise the stalls there. In an oral interview done in 23 August1984, he talked about frequenting the Alhambra Theatre in the weekends with his 4 friends one of which was the late Yusof Ishak. After the movies they would eat at Satay Club and then stroll to the beach nearby.

Pak Zubir was a prolific music composer. Many of his songs were immortalised in the classic Malay films produced by Shaw Brothers as well as Cathay Keris.

Remembering Pak Zubir Said. He was a prolific music composer and best remembered as the composer of Majulah Singapura. He also frequented Satay Club during the weekends back in his time. He was definitely a brave man willing to risk everything back in Indonesia to seek a new life in Singapore. I admire his tenacity in pursuing what he believed in. #sg50 #sg50games #satayclub #satayclubgame #satay #singapore #malaysia #indonesia #zubirsaid #samba #sambalado #indiegame #pixelart

A video posted by Afzainizam Zahari (@afzainizamzahari) on Jul 1, 2015 at 4:38pm PDT

I admire Pak Zubir, because he decided to leave everything behind in Indonesia to strike out on his own in Singapore. He literally came with almost nothing. The same way the character in my game Adi who longed to leave the countryside to do something more exciting. I think a lot of people who were migrants to Singapore shared the same traits. They were young, brave and willing to take the risk. Much can be learned from these people.

What I have learnt from these courageous men is that you cannot get too comfortable staying where you are. The only way to grow is to be out of your comfort zone.

Pak Zubir passed away in 1987. Three years after that interview was conducted. He was 80 years old.

Listen to him speak in this recording. Much thanks to National Archives of Singapore for keeping all these memorable treasures and making it available online.