By M.Krishnamoorthy
A former Associate Professor, author, media coach, and journalist
Malaysians are born of different races and religions, and our birth is not by choice.
At the end of the day, we must celebrate the differences in cultures and our lifestyles. As a teacher (Associate Professor), I emphasised the need to appreciate our differences and look at one another as equals.
So, to get my students to think about unity in diversity, in 2019, during the Merdeka celebrations, I asked them to compose and record a song as part of a Public Relations class project. The song was titled WE ARE ONE.
HELP University had a well-equipped recording studio, and the students worked together to write the lyrics and compose the music, with all of them singing together. HELP Media Studio, Faculty of Arts & Communication, assisted in the production of the video.
As the lecturer, I imparted human values that there is no supremacy of race, and if we think “My race is superior to yours”, then we are headed for disaster.
The song lyrics in the YouTube video start off with: “Our skin tones may vary, Our races differ; Our differences are many, Yet we are stronger together. Different goals and dreams we experience, good and bad: Our lives have different themes, Yet we’re together through happy and sad.”
PMX Anwar Ibrahim said: “Malaysia belongs to all after apologising over remark that upset Indian community in Seremban.”
Meanwhile, Anwar stressed that Malaysia belongs to all its citizens regardless of race, and that no one should exploit racial sentiments by telling Malaysians of Chinese descent to return to China or Malaysians of Indian descent to return to India.
“I want to respond by saying that I do not care about such narratives. Malaysia belongs to all Malaysians, and we must work for everyone. I am a Muslim, and I was never taught to insult followers of the Hindu faith. I am Malay, and my parents never taught me to take away the rights of the Indian community or oppress the Chinese community,” he said.
As the HELP students, Unity in Diversity song’s lyrics continue: “Let’s inspire one another. Let’s make our home better, peaceful and free. Diverse yet in harmony. Together hand in hand through the rain and sun, let’s see what we can become when WE ARE ONE; WE ARE ONE; WE ARE ONE.”
Honestly, composing this song WE ARE ONE was indeed a dreamlike and DREAM COME TRUE experience with the students and my aim of bringing Malaysians together in a practical PR lesson.
ENDS
Freelance Writer M. Krishnamoorthy (https://helloimkrishna.com/) is a media coach, former Associate Professor, and undercover journalist. He has freelanced with Bernama, NST, The Star, and Malaysiakini. He also freelances as a fixer/coordinator for CNN, BBC, German, and Australian Television networks, and the New York Times. As an undercover journalist, he has highlighted society's concerns.
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