First Malaysian singer to perform at International Mother Language Day
KUALA LUMPUR: Singer Rozita Rohaizad has created history by being the first Malaysian to perform at the International Mother Language Day event since its inception in 1999, hosted by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
Rozita, who is also an actress, said she chose to perform an ‘Irama Malaysia’ number titled ‘Joget Malam Pertama’ during the festival celebrated at the Aberdeen Multicultural Centre in the United Kingdom, last Sunday, via the Zoom meeting application.
“I recorded a singing and dancing performance in the form of a video wearing a kebaya style attire, a batik sarong featuring a bullock cart in the background to introduce the uniqueness of our culture and language.
“When I was invited to perform, I did not know that I was the first Malaysian citizen to be invited to participate in the event. I was surprised but at the same time happy and grateful,” she told Bernama when contacted yesterday.
She said performers from Slovenia, Poland, Scotland, Colombia, India, Bangladesh, South Africa, Mexico, Venezuela, and Romania also took part in the event.
The event was not Rozita’s first international performance as she had also been invited to perform at the National Multicultural Festival Canberra, Malaysia Festival Sydney, and Fuji Television Tokyo.
The singer said she hoped that the Covid-19 pandemic would end soon so that singers and musicians like herself could perform abroad to further elevate the country’s cultural arts on the international stage.
The International Mother
Language Day event is celebrated on Feb 21 every year to promote and raise awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity around the world.
According to the event’s website, this year it calls on policymakers, educators and teachers, parents, and families to scale up their commitment to multilingual education, and inclusion in education to advance education recovery in the context of Covid-19. – Bernama