Tunes and lyrics that transport you back home

IAM sure everyone has their Negaraku moments; that moment when you feel that lump rising in your throat as you sing those familiar lyrics or when you hear that stirring tune that makes you stand up to attention. I have had that moment several times in my life; lyrics and tunes of the familiar anthem that one takes for granted because you sang it during assembly in school, but now become all the more meaningful and poignant when you are away.

Thus, now I cherish the moment I taught Malaysian children here in London our national anthem as we prepared for our Merdeka Carnival, choked back the tears as I explained to them the meanings and nuances of the words so they could sing it with feelings, stood with pride at stadiums and locations thousands of miles away when our national anthem was sung because we had made the country proud by winning something.

Last week, the event at the St Lawrence Jewry, the official church of the Lord Mayor of London, lent us that kind of moment and more. It was an event organised by the British Malaysian Society (BMS) to celebrate 60 years of Merdeka; an evening of shared experience for those present at the small quaint building with its immaculate alabaster walls, gilt trimmings and stained glass windows, built by none other than Sir Christopher Wren.

It was an evening, aptly named “Music For Malaysia”, that took us on a journey of the anthem that we had sometimes taken for granted. The event brought together Malaysians and friends in London to enjoy the works of contemporary Malaysian composers, such as Tazul Tajuddin, Ng Chong Ling and Yeoh Pei Ann, with performances by Malaysian musicians based in the United Kingdom, such as internationally-acclaimed pianists Bobby Chen and Foo Mei Yee, and joined by Malaysia’s soprano Khairunnisa Diyana Md Noor, who was specially flown in for the occasion.

For Zehan Albakri of the BMS, it could not have been more apt to have this journey and experience shared. This daughter of the well-known architect, the late Datuk Hisham Albakri, and Datin Valerie Albakri, was turning the pages of Datin Saidah Rastam’s book Rosalie And Other Love Songs when she saw a picture of her grandfather sitting next to the first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, on the national anthem committee.

“I thought this is fascinating, and I thought this the ideal theme for the concert,” she gushed after the event. Of course, her grandfather was none other than the late Datuk Seri Mustafa Albakri, of the Malayan Civil Service, who was the first Commissioner of the Election Commission and the first Keeper of the Rulers’ Seal.

Ten years ago, for the 50th Merdeka anniversary, the BMS also put together a concert called “Musical Journeys”, which highlighted the then newly-discovered score “Sketch for Malaya” by composer Benjamin Britten, who had submitted it when the newly-born nation was in search of a national anthem. It was then performed by Chen and revisited once again this year, also performed by Chen.

The story of the national anthem was wonderfully narrated by TV presenter Haliza Hashim that took us from the days of the discovery of Terang Bulan, leaving her quite emotionally touched by the time she introduced the present Negaraku, with a moving performance by Khairunnisa.

For Lai Mei Sim, OBE, of the BMS, who had watched the Merdeka parade in 1957, vivid memories of the historic event must have played in her mind as she watched the concert. Being given St Lawrence Jewry as a venue for the concert, which coincidentally is also celebrating its 60th anniversary after it was rebuilt in 1957, made it all the more meaningful, she said, pointing to a stained glass window in the Commonwealth Chapel where an emblem of the Federated States of Malaya was there for all to see.

Leaving the St Lawrence Jewry that evening, the melodious sound of Khairunnnisa’s sopranic voice played in my mind, interspersed with Chen’s rendition on piano of Ikan Kikek, Rasa Sayang and Nona Nona Zaman Sekarang. It really brought me back home until I saw the red London buses passing by St Paul’s Cathedral.