Generally known for his oratorical skills, the Opposition Leader now dabbles in songs – on love and peace.
PETALING JAYA: Politicians aren’t generally known for their musical ability. But a new indie pop album by Anwar Ibrahim and Elizabeth Wong seeks to change all that.
Produced by a crew led by Kelana Jaya MP Loh Gwo Burne, “Teratak” (translated as “house”) is a family-based four-track album with songs on love and peace.
“The songs are, you know, a thanks to everybody who has supported us, and forgave us for some of the mistakes we made,” Loh said, adding that the album was a form of gratitude to all Malaysians.
“It’s not supposed to be a political thing. It’s about family and love and a common language that we can give to everyone. It’s about not giving up and continuing to work hard.”
Teratak’s titular track is sung by Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, and “A Capella” group known as The Wayfarers. According to Loh, the group consisted of members of PAS-Kuala Selangor MP Dzulkefly Ahmad’s family.
Teratak’s name, he added, was also a lot catchier than “rumah” (house) and not as overly used as “keluarga” (family).
The album’s fourth track, “Feeling Fun” is sung by Bukit Lanjan assemblywoman Elizabeth Wong.
Loh also said that his voice was also featured in most of Teratak’s songs.
The songs were co-written by the album’s production team d*Crew, Loh himself, his girlfriend and DAP Senator Tunku Abdul Aziz Ibrahim’s special assistant, Faisal Mustaffa.
Initially launched on Jan 25 at Subang Parade, Loh said that Malaysian radio stations were afraid of playing Teratak over the airwaves.
Shoe-string budget
Although supposedly produced on a shoe-string budget, the Kelana Jaya MP said that his team didn’t intend to make any returns on Teratak.
Loh added that he was also touched by Anwar’s part in the album.
“Anwar wanted something a bit up-tempo, so I worked on that, and I got something for him. But he went on a completely different direction, and was going for something bolero-like. It was very emotional.”
“I felt very sad when I heard it. It was not just about the voice, but how he brought himself up,” the PKR MP said.
Asked if the album was expected to top Prime Minister’s wife, Rosmah Mansor’s cover of “If Never Tomorrow Comes”, Loh disagreed.
“No, I think Rosmah has a very good voice, because I heard her singing a couple times. She’s actually pretty good.”
Speaking on possible BN criticism of the album, Loh said that Pakatan Rakyat’s political rivals were free to say whatever they wished.
“We’re letting everybody download the songs, and we don’t really discriminate whether you’re Pakatan or not,” he added said.
The songs will be downloadable for free on the album’s website (http://uni-tee.org/) from this evening onwards.
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