Late Harun Salim Bachik conferred 'Anugerah Pohon Beringin'

The late comedian, Harun Salim Bachik, who died in March, was conferred the 'Anugerah Pohon Beringin' in recognition of his dedicated service and contribution to the entertainment industry.

The award, which is the main award of the 'Malam Gegar Anak Seni' (Gasseni) event was presented by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to his widow, Surianti Mohd Nor at the Gasseni banquet here, on Tuesday.

Early this year Harun Salim, whose real name was Haron Aminar Rashid Salim, 55, collapsed suddenly on the Bukit Merah Rest and Recreation (R&R) area, Perak after attending a feast in Penang.

At the event, Gasseni also presented six awards to meritorious artistes who contributed towards building the national culture via films, television, singing, theatre, dance and music.

They are the late Ibrahim Pendek, an iconic actor in local movies, a 1994 Broadcaster Tan Sri Ahmad Merican (Television icon) and the group Alleycats (singing icons).

Also receiving the award was director, Khalid Salleh (Theatre icon), Datin Azanin Ezane Ahmad (dance icon) and former TV3 music director Datuk Ooi Eow Jin (Music icon).

The inaugural Gasseni night was jointly organised by the Koperasi Seniman Kuala Lumpur Berhad and Gabungan Persatuan Karyawan Filem Malaysia (GAFIM).

The event was attended by more than 1,000 local artistes, including acclaimed director Datuk Yusof Haslam and singer, Datuk Khadijah Ibrahim.