The Star - Chuah Siew Eng (18th April 1995)

THE STAR,
TUESDAY APRIL 18TH 1995

by CHUAH SIEW ENG


FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT FOR HO
==========================

Five thousand ringgit. That was what an Alfred Ho cassette tape fetched at an impromptu auction for charity two years ago.

It was at the second Asia Pacific Life Insurance Congress at the Putra World Trade Centre, Kuala Lumpur. The 8,000 odd international delegates were sitting restlessly after hours of passive listening, when a surprise announcement came ; a singer would be entertaining them as the next speaker couldn't make it at the eleventh hour.

The singer turned out to be Alfred Ho, of course. Organising chairman Dr. Michael Chong had providentially spotted him at The Mall (across the road), where he was promoting his debut album Special Gems. Faced with an unexpected gap in the agenda, Chong thought Ho would be a welcome substitute.

Ho was more than that. He brought the capacity crowd at Dewan Merdeka to it's feet with his rendition of evergreen songs. Seeing the rousing response of the crowd, Chong seized the opportunity to hold an auction of three of Ho's tapes for charity. From RM400, the bidding was fast approaching RM2,000 when a Singaporean lady made the stunning offer which no one could top. Maybe the lady was very generous and maybe Chong demonstrated how good a persuader he was. But try explaining the thousands of people who sang and clapped along, not in half-hearted spurts either, but with genuine pleasure.

And if you think that was a normal reaction after hours of inactivity, what about the enthusiastic response from the crowd at KL's Sungei Wang Plaza recently, where Ho's show lasted an hour more than the scheduled 45 minutes. It's a rare singer who can incite an audience into singing along ; it's the sort of chemistry that requires stimulation by the senses and you wonder how Ho keeps up his end of the rapport without being able to see to gauge how well he is doing.

Because Ho, who was born in Klian Intan, Perak, has been blind since he was three. His blindness has everything to do with who he is and what he is doing now, so it's illogical to skirt around a fact with which he has lived almost all of his 45 years.

Initially, Ho thought of playing the guitar as just a hobby. He started performing when he couldn't get a job soon after he finished school. He turned full-time in 1984 despite friendly discouragement, leaving his 10 year post as a telephone operator at the Penang Municipal Council.

"I was willing to risk it. Something told me to go on. Maybe I was spurred by people who have complimented me on my singing." says Ho during an interview at his home. So he came to Kuala Lumpur and set about making himself known, accepting shows at shopping complexes for "very little".

It has been a long, lonely struggle, full of rebuffs and heartaches, but at least at the end of ten years, he has two albums to show for it. Released last month, his second album, LOVE SONGS IN GOLD contains 22 everlasting songs. Ho says, "The main thing is to create a feeling of nostalgia. I stick to the original rendition but try to improve it at the same time." His repertoire is not limited to oldies. It's just that for his albums, he'd rather feature rare songs because contemporary tunes are sung all the time. "There's a trend of reviving old songs now. They've just been given a different beat. But there's no escaping that they are oldies." Ho adds that the response to his album is such that people are already asking for his third album.

If he weren't handicapped, Ho would have made a no-nonsense boss who gets work done. At one time or another, everybody gets the runaround and most of us are resigned to it. But Ho is not one to take things lightly. He pulls no punches and tells of the treatment he gets from unscrupulous people, even organisations and corporations, who know that he cannot retaliate in kind, thinking of him as a charity case. It is disquieting to hear about the bullies Ho has had to deal with. He says he has even been threatened should he dare to expose the deception in some so-called charity projects. In the face of such arrogance and injustice, you wouldn't blame Ho if he has become embittered and given up.

Ho did became difficult. Some people even thought he was a pain in the neck. But he didn't give up. All he needs now is for his fans to rally behind him. Grassroot support is necessary for all artistes but in ho's case, it is pivotal because his audience is just about the only people who can see him through his career.