PETALING JAYA, Aug 7 — To commemorate the nation’s 61st Merdeka Day this month, singer and vocals teacher Ushera will be releasing a single, Malaysia Merdeka, which she hopes to inspire Malaysians to be more united.

"It was inspired by an old song called Malaya Merdeka by Zahara Agus that was released in 1956. The message in that song was slightly different.

"As it is our 61st Merdeka, I feel that we are more positive about the country than ever. We should keep on striving for a better Malaysia.

"The song is dedicated to fellow Malaysians as a reminder of the importance of unity and hard work to sustain prosperity and peace in our beloved country,” said Ushera, whose real name is Fadzilah Yusof.

As Malaysians, Ushera said the people are always moving forward and evolving and the country has set a good example to others when it comes to tolerance and racial harmony.

"We are heading towards a better Malaysia and this is a good time to remind everyone how great and how blessed we are.

"As a musician, this is how I can contribute to remind people how rich our culture is,” she said.

Two years ago, Ushera released Bunga Raya where she paid homage to the music style from Malaya of 1940s and 1950s.

And later that year, Ushera, who is of Malay-Indonesian-Indian parentage, released her album Semalam Di Malaya.

"In that album, there’s a song called Pembela Tanah Air which was also a patriotic song.

"I love to revive the Malay classics as well as sing patriotic songs,” she added.

Ushera is sometimes featured in clubs like No Black Tie, The Social @ TREC as well as Ril’s Bangsar where she would appear on stage in baju kebaya, sarong and retro hairdo wrapped in a hairnet.

She is sometimes known as the "modern-day Saloma”.

"I used to have big love for American music from the 40s and 50s.

"But when I first heard Malayan music from this era, I was delighted to learn that this is our music.

"As I went deeper into my research, I found out that many of the songs from that era are not available online so I took it upon myself to introduce this music to the younger generation while evoking nostalgic memories for the older generation,” she said.

When not singing, Ushera teaches vocals at Ouch Music Academy in Bukit Ceylon, Kuala Lumpur.

Fellow teacher at the academy, Ganesh Bala — who shares the same love for music and pride in Malaysia as Ushera — composed Malaysia Merdeka.

The song will be available on iTunes and Spotify from Aug 15 and its music video will be released end of this month.