An icon of Malay music and film in the 1950s and 1960s, Nona Asiah was heard across Malaya and Singapore as a popular radio host and a voice-over singer for many Malay films. Dubbed ‘The First Lady of Entertainment’, her singing became a hallmark of the films produced by Singapore’s two major studios of the time, Malay Film Productions (owned by Shaw Brothers) and Cathay-Keris.

She later became a nurturer of young talent, teaching children not just to sing but also to perform and entertain with confidence. She mentored many who would become leading names in Malay entertainment, the best-known being singer, host, and producer Najip Ali. Her five children grew up immersed in music, and two of them – the late Iskandar Mirza Ismail, who was awarded the Cultural Medallion in 2008, and Indra Shahrir Ismail – went on to build illustrious careers in Singapore’s music industry.

Nona Asiah was born to a musical family. Her mother, Hajar Rahman, was a bangsawan (Malay opera) singer, and her father, Aman Ahmad, was a set painter and musician. Asiah began singing as a young girl when, during the Japanese Occupation, she joined her mother’s opera troupe when they sang for the Japanese troops.

Asiah’s professional career got going soon after the end of the Second World War when, aged just 16, she was hired by Radio Malaya as a singer, narrator, and host. Initially she worked on radio programmes for children. Then she helmed a weekly programme where she sang Malay and Indonesian songs requested by listeners.

The popularity of the show led to her being offered a recording contract by British music company HMV. She was one of the first local female singers to be signed by HMV. Her first record was a cover in Malay of the popular Spanish song Besame Mucho. Titled Cium ku Lagi (Kiss Me Again), it was a big hit for Asiah.

Her career as a playback or voice-over singer began when musician and composer Zubir Said, who would later compose Singapore’s national anthem, was appointed musical director of Shaw Brother’s 1948 film Chinta (Love). Zubir started the practice of getting well-known singers to be the singing voices of the lead actors. For Chinta, he hired Asiah as the playback singer for Siput Sarawak, and P Ramlee as the singer for the male lead A Roomai Noor.

At her peak, Asiah was in much demand overseas and travelled with an orchestra to perform at concerts in Brunei and Sarawak. Her hits included Hasan Dan Hasnah (Hasan and Hasnah) and Zubir’s original compositions such as Gelora Chinta (Love Surge) and Cempaka Biru (Blue Cempaka).

In 1955, Asiah married fellow musician Ismail Kassim and they started their family. But unlike many women at that time who stopped working once they got married, Asiah kept on working and performing. This gave her a financial independence that was rare for women then, and she was able to buy her own red MG sports car. Her husband then bought a green one to match hers.

Asiah’s talents extended to fashion – she designed and sewed many of her own clothes. Her design flair was such that singers and actors such as Saloma, Kartina Dahari, Julie Sudiro, and Momo Latiff got her to make their baju kurongs and kebayas.

Asiah retired from performing in the 1970s and became a vocal instructor. Many of the young people who appeared in the popular 1980s children’s television series Mat Yoyo were trained by her.

In 2003, Asiah was presented by Mediacorp with the Lifetime Achievement Award for her contributions to the entertainment industry. In 2015 at the Malay Festival of Arts at the Esplanade, entertainers, many of them her proteges, paid tribute to her with a concert and an exhibition of her fashion designs. Asiah was awarded the Cultural Medallion in 2016.

An icon of Malay music and film in the 1950s and 1960s, Nona Asiah was heard across Malaya and Singapore as a popular radio host and a voice-over singer for many Malay films. Dubbed ‘The First Lady of Entertainment’, her singing became a hallmark of the films produced by Singapore’s two major studios of the time, Malay Film Productions (owned by Shaw Brothers) and Cathay-Keris.

She later became a nurturer of young talent, teaching children not just to sing but also to perform and entertain with confidence. She mentored many who would become leading names in Malay entertainment, the best-known being singer, host, and producer Najip Ali. Her five children grew up immersed in music, and two of them – the late Iskandar Mirza Ismail, who was awarded the Cultural Medallion in 2008, and Indra Shahrir Ismail – went on to build illustrious careers in Singapore’s music industry.

Nona Asiah was born to a musical family. Her mother, Hajar Rahman, was a bangsawan (Malay opera) singer, and her father, Aman Ahmad, was a set painter and musician. Asiah began singing as a young girl when, during the Japanese Occupation, she joined her mother’s opera troupe when they sang for the Japanese troops.

Asiah’s professional career got going soon after the end of the Second World War when, aged just 16, she was hired by Radio Malaya as a singer, narrator, and host. Initially she worked on radio programmes for children. Then she helmed a weekly programme where she sang Malay and Indonesian songs requested by listeners.

The popularity of the show led to her being offered a recording contract by British music company HMV. She was one of the first local female singers to be signed by HMV. Her first record was a cover in Malay of the popular Spanish song Besame Mucho. Titled Cium ku Lagi (Kiss Me Again), it was a big hit for Asiah.

Her career as a playback or voice-over singer began when musician and composer Zubir Said, who would later compose Singapore’s national anthem, was appointed musical director of Shaw Brother’s 1948 film Chinta (Love). Zubir started the practice of getting well-known singers to be the singing voices of the lead actors. For Chinta, he hired Asiah as the playback singer for Siput Sarawak, and P Ramlee as the singer for the male lead A Roomai Noor.

At her peak, Asiah was in much demand overseas and travelled with an orchestra to perform at concerts in Brunei and Sarawak. Her hits included Hasan Dan Hasnah (Hasan and Hasnah) and Zubir’s original compositions such as Gelora Chinta (Love Surge) and Cempaka Biru (Blue Cempaka).

In 1955, Asiah married fellow musician Ismail Kassim and they started their family. But unlike many women at that time who stopped working once they got married, Asiah kept on working and performing. This gave her a financial independence that was rare for women then, and she was able to buy her own red MG sports car. Her husband then bought a green one to match hers.

Asiah’s talents extended to fashion – she designed and sewed many of her own clothes. Her design flair was such that singers and actors such as Saloma, Kartina Dahari, Julie Sudiro, and Momo Latiff got her to make their baju kurongs and kebayas.

Asiah retired from performing in the 1970s and became a vocal instructor. Many of the young people who appeared in the popular 1980s children’s television series Mat Yoyo were trained by her.

In 2003, Asiah was presented by Mediacorp with the Lifetime Achievement Award for her contributions to the entertainment industry. In 2015 at the Malay Festival of Arts at the Esplanade, entertainers, many of them her proteges, paid tribute to her with a concert and an exhibition of her fashion designs. Asiah was awarded the Cultural Medallion in 2016.