AFTER the pleasant chance meeting with Malaysian Film last week at my morning wet market, it reminded me that I should catch up with Malaysian Song if I knew him. 

Decidedly masculine, a gentleman, and proud of his male pronoun, I first met Malaysian Song back in the early 2000s backstage at a poetry reading event in Kuala Lumpur in an old colonial bungalow converted into an arts centre. 

He seemed sullen back then as he patiently waited for his turn to take the stage, slipping outside every 20 minutes for a cigarette. 

Of course, when his turn came along through an acoustic duo – an acoustic guitarist and a vocalist – he stole the night with his minor chord heart and regret-filled soul. 

We kept in touch in spite of the various changes of seminal pre-social media online platforms such as Friendster, then Myspace, before he permanently kept his profile active on Facebook (although he kept it unsearchable). 

I dropped him a note on Messenger the morning after meeting Malaysian Film and to my surprise he replied almost immediately. 

“What’s up broo? How are you lah?” he replied. We exchanged pleasantries and we met in the afternoon at a mamak eatery in Serdang town (the cool cats all stay south of Kuala Lumpur) over a steady stream of teh tarik kurang manis. 

Azmyl Yunor (AY): How have you been doing boss? 

Malaysian Song (MS): I’ve been good brooo, macam tu lah (like that lah). People have been singing or humming along to me for various different reasons since the pandemic began. 

AY: What are those “different reasons”? Can you give me an example? 

MS: Well, you know leading up to the 2018 general election, they sang me with a different kind of fervour – lain macam bro (very peculiar bro) – they sang it truly from the heart, like a guttural kinda heart. Songs may be born at different times and places but yet the magic is that its melodies or lyricism transcends time and space – songs live on longer than the composer or the singer. I’ve been around the block for a long, long time, bro – since 1963. I’ve never heard people sing to me like that until 2018. 

AY: The year 2018 was interesting for me too – I had gigs booked from just before the election and right after – you could feel a certain sense of jubilation in the air because of the election results. Yes, it was historic but we’re so used to disappointment here that it took a while for the realisation to sink in that we for the first time had a change in government. 

MS: The build-up was craaazyyy brooo – maybe if you listened to the recorded versions of me on the radio you wouldn’t have caught it. But like you said, if you went to the independent and underground music events or gigs and venues, you could feel the pulse stronger than on mainstream media. I have to be on mainstream media to cari makan bro but songs are best served live in front of an audience – nothing can top that. That’s how songs were always sung for centuries until recording technology and the corrupt music industry came along of course. 

AY: You have an amazing ability to go from epoch to another in one sentence – it’s just like how you, as a song, embody so much evergreen generational sentiments, which seems to be missing in a lot of the younger songs now. Do we feel that way too? 

MS: I’m just a song, man. I am what I am and what you see is what you get – but of course specifically being “Malaysian” as a song comes with its own baggage, which is what you just describe as “evergreen generational sentiments” – wow, that’s an awesome way of describing me bro, thank you. But yes, how can you discuss “Malaysian” without also asking the question “What was before Malaysia existed?” Technically speaking, I was born on September 16, 1963 since that was when “Malaysia” came into existence. But my spirit is older. Those songs that came before that still resonated and carried on being sung regardless. For example, is a P. Ramlee song from his Studio Jalan Ampas (Singapore) movies Malaysian or Singaporean? Now, if you go to Singapore, his songs are of course “Singaporean” but he’s Malaysian and of course you all venerate him as a Malaysian artist. I can’t speak of things that came before I was born but whatever it is, as songs we rise above the messy need to be attached to nationalities. Other people give you your name.

AY: Fascinating – when did you first realise you were “Malaysian” at heart? Was it when you were christened your name? 

MS: What I am really depends on who sings me, you see. Just look at how Malaysians go all mushy and proud when a foreigner or non-native speaks or sings in Malay – we love the novelty. But of course, if a native local sings it, that level of novelty goes missing immediately and most probably won’t pay attention unless they sound unique, or ironically if they sound exactly like the original singer. I find the latter very distressing. Malaysians are fascinated when they see a band or singer sing “exactly like on the album.” Brother, if you want to hear me exactly like on the album, just stay at home and listen to the album lah. Songs live captures the moments in time that are not repeatable. By the way, how’s your song Makan Gaji doing? He’s still a mainstay on your setlist ya? 

AY: He’s good! Oh man, he’s a great closer – I usually play Makan Gaji as an encore now, he’s great at making the audience participate. Yes, he’s definitely a force to be reckoned with live more than on record. 

MS: Alamak sorry bro, duty call, I think that busker over there needs me. I don’t know how long I’ll be there. Nowadays only buskers can sing songs live, those in power are killing you musicians. I hope things will turn out for the better bro. 

AY: Eh, no problem, go go. Yes, let’s see how this current fracas about the entertainment tax review by the Selangor government pans out. We’ll catch up again for sure. 

MS: Ok stay safe bro! Great catching up! 

AY: Peace bruh! – April 1, 2022.

* Azmyl Yunor is a touring underground recording artiste, and an academic in media and cultural studies. He has published articles on pop culture, subcultures and Malaysian cultural politics. He adheres to the three-chords-and-the-truth school of songwriting, and Woody Guthrie’s maxim “All you can write is what you see”. He is @azmyl on Twitter.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.