Nice..."Dengarkanlah".....

Coming back from work yesterday night, I put on my compilation of Sheila Majid's songs and the songs soothes a lot of strained nerves away. I must say that the Malaysian Queen of Jazz cum songstress cum diva really touches a lot hearts with her silky and authentic distinct voice cords and range. Yeah, I have been a fan of Sheila Majid since my college days and it was nice to hear familiar songs like "Lagenda", " Bunyi Gitar", " Sinaran" , " Antara Anyer dan Jakarta", "Warna", "Memori" just to name a few during the drive home. For once, I wind down the windows of my car and feels the thrust of fresh new air into the car. It was a cool night and soft nice breeze was the order of the night.

As I was reaching the last traffic lights to my taman, the song " Dengarkanlah" came on the player. I switched it on to a nice volume as I like this song quite a bit. The music and vocal arrangements were really superb and I really enjoyed this song a lot.

I was then interrupted by woman's voice on my right. " You suka lagu Melayu?" , a young Malay woman asked me. Incidentally, she was in another car on my right with another Malay guy on the steering wheels. I said, " Yah, I suka lagu Sheila Majid!". " Oh! Lagu baru Sheila Majid -ker?", she asked. " Yah, nama lagu ialah "Dengarkanlah". Best!", while I put up both my thumbs! She then unabashedly said, " Oh...I tertanya jugak siapa artis yang nyanyi tadi! Eh, jarang jugak jumpa orang Cina dengar lagu Melayu-kan?" I answered, " Yah, memang saya budak Cina tapi saya tetap anak Malaysia-mah. Jadi mesti enjoy semua lagu-lah! Tak kira-lah." This young woman and her partner laughed. She then added , " Jarang jugak jumpa orang macam abang. Anak Malaysia. Yes, I like that!" I just smiled and said, " Tetap Anak Malaysia-wan! You patut dengar jugak " Cinta Jangan Kau Pergi". Ini pun best jugak,ok?" She nodded and as the traffic lights hit green, we were off to our respective lanes of travel. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her put her hand out and waved. I waved back and sped off towards my home.

I guess, the situation seemed so odd, actually. What had happened to our society and our country today? The young woman and I came from two different generations but the stigma of racism still exist. I felt good that I smashed this stigma today eventhough it is a small one. A small victory, though. I am glad that music is a universal language that can hit at this barrier. I am sure, Sheila Majid would be very proud today to know that her music touched lives from all walks of life and enjoyed by all races, creed and color. It certainly touched me , my family and hopefully, that young lady's life. Incidentally, my wife and children loved her songs too. Let's continue to create a beautiful society and make this place a better place to live in. We have had enough junk and filth thrown into our lives from all corners of stupid mentality.

Let's make each day as though it is the last day of our lives and make it a nice one, shall we? Let's make a change and change, we must!