Wahid Satay

Abdul Wahid bin Haji Ahmad, also known as Wahid Satay, A. Wahid or lesser known as S.M. Wahid (born 1930), is a Singaporean-Malaysian veteran actor, comedian and singer.

Wahid Satay
Born	Abdul Wahid bin Haji Ahmad 1930 (age 89–90) Indragiri, Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia)
Nationality	Indonesian
Other names	A. Wahid, Wahid Satay, S.M. Wahid
Occupation	Actor, singer, comedian
Years active	1956—2005

Early life

Wahid was born in Indragiri, Indonesia and migrated to Singapore in 1935. He received his early education at the Geylang Malay School.

Prior to his acting career, he took painting, which is his hobby since his school days. Because of the quality of his paintings, Wahid was offered a job as a studio set painter at the Cathay Keris Studios at East Coast Road at the end of 1956. In 1957, director B.N. Rao needed a young comedian to be given a role in the film Pontianak. Rao noted that Wahid always telling jokes to his co-workers and always making everyone on the set laughed, and thus decided to include him in Pontianak as a comedic role.

The role given to Wahid is the part of a satay seller (hence the stage name 'Wahid Satay', given by Cathay Keris Studios owner Loke Wan Tho) in a village where the people are afraid of Pontianak. Wahid so effectively acted the part of the satay seller that the scene became one of the most memorable scene of the film Pontianak. The movie Pontianak created its own history when it broke Malay movie theatre records, with a total takings of more than one million dollars, the highest amount then in 1957.[1]

Career

Following his huge success in Pontianak, Wahid Satay was promoted from assistant painter to full-time actor with a three-year contract. Wahid was not only competent in the field of acting, but also singing. Besides his skills in front of the camera, Wahid also performs live shows to promote his films. Up to this day, Wahid still get many invitations to perform live on stage. During his Cathay Keris Studio days, Wahid represented his studios at the Asia Pacific Film Festivals in Tokyo, Manila and Hong Kong.[2]

As an actor with Cathay Keris Studios, Wahid starred in numerous lead and supporting actor comic parts, which led him to be labelled "the Jerry Lewis of Singapore and Malaya".[3]

Apart from his iconic comedic role in 50 and 60s era, He also rose to fame with another comedic actor, Mat Sentul in the same period. Thus both of them had involved together in numerous comedy films of those era such as Pak Pandir Moden, 2 kali 5 and etc.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2005	Senario XX	Tok Ketua
2004	Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam	Palace Officials	Cameo appearance
1980	Tuan Besar	Tuan Wahid
1979	Dendang Perantau	Wahid
	Mat Tenggek	Wahid
1966	Dua Kali Lima	Wahid
	Anak Dara	Laba
	Naga Tasik Chini	Belitong
1965	Muda Mudi
	Tiga Botak	Wahid
1964	Pontianak Gua Musang	Ali
1963	Gila Talak	Wahid / Wahab
	Gul Bakawali
	Masuk Angin Keluar Asap	Wahid
1962	Jula Juli Bintang Tujuh	Mertoh
	Mabuk Kepayang	Hassan
	Badang	Badang
	Chelorong Cheloreng	Cheloreng
	Laila Majnun
1961	Puteri Gunong Ledang
	Gado Gado
	Lela Satria
	Sri Mersing	Jalak
	Sultan Mahmud Mangkat Dijulang	Awang
1960	Che Mamat Parang Tumpul	Mamat
	Pak Pandir Moden	Kulop
1959	Rasa Sayang Eh...	Baning
1958	Che Mamat Parang Tajam	Mamat
	Sumpah Pontianak	Ali
	Serangan Orang Minyak	Baning
	Satay	Kamil
1957	Pontianak	Ali

References

1. http://cinemamalaysia.com.my/artist/info/?id=Abdul_Wahid_Bin_Ahmad_3472
2. http://cinemamalaysia.com.my/artist/info/?id=Abdul_Wahid_Bin_Ahmad_3472
3. "Page 8 Advertisements Column 2". The Straits Times. 3 January 1959. p. 8. Retrieved 13 February 2017 – via NewspaperSG.

External links

• Wahid Satay on IMDb