Keeping traditions alive for younger

generation
WHEN he was a young boy, Mohd Bahroodin Ahmad would stake out the Youth Club
in Jalan Gertak Merah in Johor to watch a dance instructor, Mohi, conduct lessons. 
“Whenever Encik Mohi saw me peeping through the door, he would chase me away.
He did not want to teach me because he thought I was too young,” he recalled. 

But Mohd Bahroodin, or Cikgu Baba as he is fondly

known, had a burning desire to learn and would come
back over and over again. 

He observed the steps from afar and practised till he

got them right. 

“I learnt hard and I practised hard,” said the 62-year-

old cultural activist who was last year named a “Living
Heritage Treasure” by the Penang Heritage Trust. 

Although his parents objected to his involvement in

cultural activities, Cikgu Baha grew up learning
TICKLISH PERFORMANCE: the Bangsawan, boria and other forms of traditional
Cikgu Baha is captivating in entertainment. 
his role as Bibik Hitam, which
His late parents (policeman Ahmad Saad and
he is currently performing at
120Armenian Street. — housewife Puteh Yope) did not look favourably upon
STARpic BY K. E. OOI their son’s interest in the performing arts because they
were not comfortable whenever he took on feminine roles at school stage shows.  

His mother, especially, reminded him that entertainers did not earn enough and that
acting was not a noble profession. 

But the young Cikgu Baha, who was born in Singapore but raised in various states
including Penang, Kelantan and Johor, persisted. 

His father was in the police force and was constantly being transferred, and so he
took the opportunity to learn the cultural performances of the various states where
they went. 
He had his first formal lesson in the performing arts while studying at an English
College (Maktab Sultan Abu Bakar). It was there that a teacher by the name of Cikgu
Mohamad taught him Javanese and other traditional dances. 

It was also in Johor that he was first introduced to stage performance. 

He remembered the first role he played, as a fairy in Shakespeare’s Midsummer

Night’s Dream. 
Cikgu Baha later took comprehensive lessons in the performing arts under the
tutelage of Normah Salim when he was at Maktab Perguruan Bahasa in Kuala Lumpur
in 1963 and 1964. 

He soon became an expert in boria, bangsawan, ronggeng, and other forms of

traditional entertainment.  
“Time flew but I learnt everything I wanted, from dancing to singing to
producing bangsawan plays,” he said. 
Cikgu Baha started his teaching career in 1965 at SMK Bukit Mertajam. Twenty years
later, he was seconded to Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) as a culture officer. 

He was also actively involved in boria groups in Penang. Cikgu Baha, who is also
a boria master, used to stage boria shows for RTMs’ Dendang Rakyat slot in the
1960s.