Sabah Society For The Blind -1st Oct 2005

SABAH SOCIETY FOR THE BLIND
1ST OCTOBER 2005

INTRODUCING ALFRED HO
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Alfred Ho has been crooning evergreen favourites to Malaysians for more than 2 decades. His mellow voice has brought him far since his brush with stardom as a semi-finalist in RTM's Bakat TV of the 1970's. "There's nothing I haven't tried," he says. Ho is no daredevil, he is simply a blind singer bent on making it in the punishing entertainment world. Some of the things he has tried include writing to cliff richard and the BBC Outllook programme, looking for breaks. His wife Rufina, not to be outdone, wrote in to TV3's benson & hedges golden dreams without Ho's knowledge, telling the producers about his dream to perform in Las Vegas. Ho says he has come up against a fair amount of prejudice. "I'm not sure if it is because I'm blind or whether they think I am too old." It has been an uphill task for Ho on his journey to promote himself as an entertainer.

Ho's love for music goes back to his days at St Nicholas School for the blind in Penang. While studying at the school, he developed an interest in music and formed a band called THE SHARKS. He continued his musical career after leaving school, performing at pubs and functions while working as a telephone operator for the Penang Municipal Council. In 1983, however, Ho decided to become a full-time musician. Ho was the first Malaysian blind man to record an album, earning him a mention in the Malaysia Book of Records.