SHUIB on SUNDAY:The days of Seha, Chris and little Misha (In memory of Seha, 1961-2006)

2009/10/11

THERE I was at my favourite karaoke joint recently surfing for my cari makan song when suddenly Mulanya Di Sini filled the air.

My thoughts immediately went to the band Freedom and Norsehah Abu Bakar, better known as Seha, the lead vocalist.

Freedom, a pop/rock outfit ruled the airwaves in the late 1980s and early 1990s. But then Seha did not just have a hit song.

Seha was also a TV compere, actress, producer and, for the uninitiated, she was the one who initiated Anugerah Industri Muzik.

To her fans, Seha might have been just a singer. To me, she was a wonderful friend.

Before I knew it, memories of Seha, her first husband Christopher Nigel Lund Abdullah and especially her son, Misha Kyrie came flooding into my mind.

Seha the mother with Misha (top) and Karissa.

To think that it has been more than 15 years ago!

But I vividly remember everything. Her generous smile, her laugh, her kindness, her undying love for Misha, her shows.



Yes, Seha had such a colourful life.

In the early 1990s, my stint at EMI allowed me to rub shoulders with its stars and Seha, who was signed with the label and I hit it off straightaway.

That's because she was such a likeable character and an angel to work with. She was punctual, passionate, fun and easygoing but never frivolous.

What I loved the most was her tone of voice -- pleasant and never condescending. And her smile always lit up a place, something that endeared her to many.

Needless to say, as a public relations executive, I hardly ever needed to do anything when working with Seha -- she was well-prepared, independent and resourceful.

My close association with Seha got me invited over for the weekends, where dinner was delectable. The singer and her husband were such nice company, hospitable and entertaining.

It would end so late that I would be asked to sleep over at their bungalow.

Their son, little Misha, who was a little over a year old then, would join us for dinner and get involved in the after-dinner conversation.

He was such a little darling and we got on so famously, that Chris and Seha would often ask me to babysit Misha.

Once Seha had to perform in Bintulu and there was an emergency because Chris had some other engagement and the maid was indisposed.

There was this "emergency" phone call from Seha. "I need you in Bintulu. I need you to keep Misha company when I perform," pleaded Seha.

She didn't have to plead.

By this time, Seha was no longer with Freedom, a band she had stayed on for seven years. She was pursuing a solo career and had just progressed to becoming a TV presenter. She hosted Muzik TV, a tele-magazine, for three years.

Seha juggled her time being a wife, mother and public figure and never once complained about it.

Hosting Muzik TV took her away from Misha several hours a day. When she recorded her last solo album, Enigma (released in 1993), Seha waited until Misha was fast asleep before she could sneak out to do her recording.

Once her work was done, she rushed home.

"I can't wait to see Misha!" It was pretty obvious that her son was her life.

Seha and Chris often insisted that Sunday is a holiday for all so dinner would be had outside, together with the maids. Such was their hospitality!

But Misha was also close to his daddy. When I dropped by at their house one day, the 2-year-old Misha was busy wiping the dining table.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Oh, daddy's coming home soon. I need to make sure the table is clean for daddy," said Misha as Seha turned to me and smiled proudly.

But all that changed when Chris and Seha divorced in 1998. Chris has since remarried.

Chris took Misha to live with him in Jakarta and Seha had Karissa who had just been born. Seha, who remarried, lost contact with Chris and Misha.

Seha didn't see Misha for several years after that. But the strong bond between mother and child could never be broken.

What Seha didn't know was that Misha, who moved to Britain, was also looking for his mother.

Thanks to the Internet, Google and bloggers and with some luck, Misha and Seha got together through the Internet and the phone.

It happened 10 days before she passed away.

"He is okay. When I last spoke to him, he told me he had just come back from the mosque," a feeble-looking Seha, who was suffering from cancer, told me.

"He prays five times a day, he tells me."

May Allah bless your soul my friend.