Beloved Malaysian singer Sharifah Aini, often referred to as simply Kak Pah, was born Sharifah Aini binti Syed Jaafar on July 2, 1953 in Nee Soon, Singapore. She became a national figure while still a teenager after winning the Bintang RTS, a national singing competition, with her rendition of “Tiga Malam”. She would go on to produce at least one, and usually more, new EPs or albums every year between 1970 and 1988, and then continue that pace from 1991 to 2006. Her gift for mixing traditional and pop sounds can be heard on such hits as “Bunga Tanjung”, “Dekatlah Padaku”, “Hapuslah Airmatamu”, and “Seri Dewi Malam”. So beloved was she that Malaysia awarded the Commander of the Order of Meritorious Service (PJN), and she was also named the second ever Biduanita Negara, the highest award given to female musical performers in Malaysia. She passed away July 5, 2014 from a rare lung disease. Her old songs continued to crack the Malaysian charts even in her death, including “Nostalgia Aidilfitri”, a 2007 track that returned to the charts in 2021.
