Thousands rock for tsunami aid in Malaysia
Agence France-Presse
Kuala Lampur, March 19
Tens of thousands of people rocked to raise money for tsunami relief at a star-studded concert late Friday that was the biggest ever held in Malaysia, one of the countries battered in the December disaster.
US hip hop act Black Eyed Peas, soul singer Lauryn Hill, boy band Backstreet Boys, R and B stars Boyz II Men and rapper Wyclef Jean performed for 13,000 people packed into a stadium just outside Kuala Lumpur for the eight-hour event.
Crowds gathered three hours early to catch a glimpse of their icons as they arrived on the red carpet before a show that had Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi side by side with excited young fans.
"It is our honour, it is our duty to be here tonight, to do this for an important cause," Boyz II Men singer Shawn Stockman told the crowd.
Jean and Hill, of the now-defunct Grammy-award winning hip-hop group Fugees, teamed up for the night, sending screaming fans to their feet, dancing and waving huge orange pieces of hand-shaped foamboard in the air.
The mood momentarily shifted when the lights were turned off during one of Jean's songs and the crowd waved lighted mobile phones in remembrance of the more than 270,000 people killed in the tsunami across the region.
But it picked up again as the deafening roar from the audience reached ear-splitting levels when Backstreet Boys, the penultimate act, performed chart-topping hits including Incomplete, the first single from their forthcoming album.
Hong Kong pop singer Nicholas Tse, action movie star Jackie Chan, Malaysia's jazz queen Sheila Majid and Indonesian singer Ruth Sahanaya were also on the bill.
Former Baywatch bombshell Carmen Electra, Joey Fatone and Lance Bass from boy band 'N Sync, American Idol judge Paula Abdul and former contestant Clay Aiken, Japanese actor Ken Watanabe and Chinese actress Bai Ling made brief appearances.
Razali Ismail, special envoy to Malaysia's tsunami aid efforts, said the concert organised by Malaysian charity Force of Nature, and timed to coincide with the Formula One Grand Prix race at the weekend, had raised more than 10 million ringgit ($2.63 million).
"When you hear the phrase 'force of nature' you think of a disaster, but we believe that the strongest force of nature is the will of the human spirit," he said.
"Thank you for coming and joining us to help the tsunami victims, those who are unable to pick themselves up and need our help."
Former Bond girl Michelle Yeoh said: "On December 26, a terrible disaster struck the area we call home."
"This has moved many of us to act, that is why we are all here tonight. We cannot let those faces in the headlines just fade away," she said.
Malaysia escaped the huge tsunami death tolls suffered by other Indian Ocean countries. Nearly 70 people were killed in the country, a fraction of the more than 200,000 people believed dead or missing in Indonesia alone.
© HT Media Ltd. 2004.