BEAUFORT: Persatuan Artis Tempatan Sabah (Pertisa) organised the Anugerah Juara Lagu Etnik Sabah (AJLES 2023) at the JKKNS auditorium in Kota Kinabalu, recently.
It was divided into 10 categories comprising Dusun, Murut, Tobilung, Kadazan, Lotud, Bisaya, Rungus, Bajau, Sungai and Tatana.
The Kadazan ethnic group took first placing followed by Sungai and Dusun in second and third placings, respectively.
The Bisaya ethnic group, meanwhile, submitted 12 songs online. One of the winners for the Bisaya category was “Ikau oni” singer Emjey Yassin Ft Clarice John Mattha.
Among the artistes present were Apis Paschya, Adin Hans and Qahirah Maisarah who is the champion of Radio Television Malaysia's “Little Star”.
Several popular songs were remade into Bisaya language so children will not forget their mother tongue as hoped by the President of the United Bisaya Sabah Association, who is also Assistant Minister to the Chief Minister Datuk Ruslan Muharam.