Neighbours - Music, Dance, the Sultan & Maria Menado

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Here is a 1959 (circa) photo of the ladies at our Bedok kampong house and their relatives resting after a great swim at Bedok Beach. Right behind them is the fencing around the holiday home of the Sultan of Pahang (we posted an earlier story about him), which is next to our house. Our mother and cousin told us that from time to time there was exciting live band music emanating from this house of the Sultan (Abu Bakar and grandfather of the current Sultan of Pahang). So they would creep to the fencing to try to catch a glimpse of the famous actress at that time Maria Menado (most famously known for her 1957 movie Pontianak, and still alive today) as she was known to attend! Little did anyone know that she would soon be a consort of the Sultan and marry him later in 1963. What glam we had in those days too!

Circa 1959/early 1960 shot taken at Bedok Beach just outside the Sultan of Pahang's holiday home (credit to Mr Ronald Ho for the information)



The beautiful actress and star of Malay cinema Maria Melado
(photo not ours)




Film poster for 1957 film "Pontianak" that catapulted Maria Menado into fame across South-east Asia
Credit: Cathay-Keris










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