The old, the young, the MPs: The ones who attend the festivities

Getai has been given a boost with “a new mission” in recent years – to help the Government share public messages with audiences in various languages, said getai host Hao Hao.

The message in Ang Mo Kio on the night of Aug 16 was about the GSTV – Cash payouts from the Government to help Singaporeans cope with the rising cost of living. 

Hao Hao, who has also been a host on SPH Media’s Mandarin radio station 96.3 HAO FM for about two years, usually repeats these messages on his shows to keep his listeners informed.

On Aug 20 over in Toa Payoh, getai hosts Ke Le and Jacky Chin shared details about the Age Well Neighbourhood initiative and the Home Improvement Programme with an audience of mostly senior citizens.

Toa Payoh is the first town designated as an Age Well Neighbourhood in 2025 to bring enhanced care services and senior-friendly infrastructure closer to where seniors live.

A surprise guest – Minister for National Development Chee Hong Tat, the anchor minister in Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC – also spoke briefly about the initiatives before he belted out the Hokkien song Four Seasons, much to the delight of the audience.

MPs like him are often spotted at seventh month festivities, engaging their residents.

First-term Tanjong Pagar GRC MP Foo Cexiang attended the Tiong Bahru Sin Hock Heng Sia Zhong Yuan Jie dinner at SAFRA Mount Faber on Aug 16, where he sang the Cantopop hit Friends.

The occasion was also to raise funds for local disability-focused charity SPD’s renovation works.

“I was filled with pride and gratitude at Sin Hock Heng Sia’s fund-raising dinner, as I saw our community gathered together, hearts beating as one”, said Foo.

In Hougang, Workers’ Party MP Dennis Tan stopped by a Zhong Yuan Jie dinner on Aug 27.

Tan, together with his predecessors in the constituency Low Thia Khiang and Png Eng Huat, greeted over 40 tables of guests in a mix of English, Mandarin and Teochew, shaking hands and taking photos.

Tan said he tries his best to attend every event he is invited to by his residents of all races and religions. He has more than 10 Zhong Yuan Jie engagements this year.

“Kudos to our residents who are very warm to the former MPs and myself. A lot of them appreciate our presence and we are very grateful for it,” he said. “To be honest, it’s a wonderful opportunity to spend time and catch up with the residents.”

Renovation contractor Lim Bow Chuan, 66, has been attending the same dinner organised by Hougang 322 Zhong Yuan Jie committee for over a decade.

Said the Hougang resident: “I see them yearly, and they always come to greet every guest. It shows that they are close to the people.”

Dialects have been a mainstay in getai for years – and continue to be so, given the predominantly older audience.

Getai organiser Aaron Tan, who founded Lex(S) Entertainment Productions in 2001, said those from the older generations understand the lyrics, relate to the songs and have an emotional connection with them.

But declining dialect proficiency is not the only reason it is difficult to draw younger audiences, he said.

“Maybe it’s more about how we present them,” said Tan, 50. “So for getai, we can introduce more modern dialect songs. Even for the old Hokkien classics, we can rearrange them with a fresher and more youthful style.”

Getai hosts see getai as a rare platform for young people to get to know their dialects better.

“The younger ones may be attracted to getai because of the dialects, given that their exposure to these languages is so limited now,” said getai host Sam Loo, who is in his 60s. “What we need is a good variety of young and old singers and songs to engage a broad spectrum of audiences.”

Tan has asked some of his performers to include Mandopop or even K-pop to attract younger audiences.

Impersonators of Taiwanese singers A-Mei and Wu Bai enthralled audiences in past years, while others sang trendy hits like Apt by Rose from K-pop girl group Blackpink, featuring American singer Bruno Mars.

“It’s all about balance,” he said. “We want to preserve the roots and identity of getai, but at the same time, getai has to evolve with the times.”

One of Tan’s younger getai performers is Ke Le, who started out at age 13.

Now 29, the bubbly singer-host said: “I do share my performance schedules on social media to inform my fans.”

This is her way of attracting younger people to getai, she said.

SATS catering staff Alvina Lim, 30, has been supporting Ke Le for five years.

The Bedok resident travelled to Toa Payoh Industrial Park on Aug 20 with a handmade signboard bearing Ke Le’s name.

“She’s friendly and can sing well. I will be watching the rest of her getai shows throughout the seventh month,” said Lim. 

Alice Kok, a 40-year-old accounts executive, attended the same show with her colleagues from HPH Engineering on Aug 20.

“I prefer to watch younger getai performers like Ke Le, but the dialects are all right since I understand a little Hokkien,” said Kok, whose family speaks Cantonese.

A rare sight in the crowd was Yan Yan and An An, aged two and four, with their father Andrew Tan. He said it was their first exposure to getai culture, as he wanted to show his boys the customs of the festival, which they had heard from their grandparents and pre-school classmates.

He drove from Sixth Avenue to Toa Payoh after searching for a getai event using artificial intelligence and social media.

“To attract the young, getai must be in an accessible location like this,” said the 40-year-old general manager of a human resources tech-based firm. “And they must be publicised and promoted on social media.”

Polytechnic student Zacchaeus Yew, 18, attended the event with his father and two brothers, aged 11 and 15, continuing a five-year family tradition.

His grandfather owns a company at the industrial park.

“I can understand some dialects, but I hope they can also have some English songs to attract the younger ones,” said Yew, adding that free food and drinks would also be a good incentive.

Lex(S) Entertainment’s Tan has also extended the reach of his shows through live streaming.

They draw about 20,000 each time, including young and overseas audiences, more than the 400 to 500 who attend in person.

“When I entered the scene in 2001, getai was dying, like a patient diagnosed with stage 4 cancer,” Tan said. 

“But today, getai is still surviving through everyone’s efforts. Whatever challenges we have now, it is still better than getai being dead.”