KUALA LUMPUR, March 26 — Artiste Alena Murang was deeply affected after seeing images of the staggering levels of pollution that were choking up Malaysia’s rivers.

Those emotions were the genesis for Pemung Jae, a music video released in conjunction with World Water Day 2019.

The video features Alena singing a traditional folk song as she plays the sape, an instrument unique to the Kenyah community in Central Borneo.

She is among the first and few female sape players.

Alena told Malay Mail that choosing sape music for the project came naturally as the lyrics often speak about rivers and their role in society.

"It’s a song about being together with my very true friends under the moonlight by the river, the river that gives us so many resources and life,” she said.

The song was passed down to the Sarawakian musician from sape master Mathew Ngau Jau who is considered Malaysia’s Living National Heritage and a cultural guardian of Kenyah traditions.

Just as culture is passed down from one generation to the next, Alena hopes that nature can also continue to thrive so future communities can inherit a green Earth.

The singer admitted that she was initially unaware of the scale of pollution that Malaysian rivers were suffering from.

In the video, the foul state of the waterways can be seen in shots of River of Life Public Outreach Programme (ROLPOP) initiatives like a log boom clean-up and visits to several Klang Valley rivers.

According to statistics, the Drainage and Irrigation Department (JPS) collected 60 tonnes of rubbish from rivers in 2015 and that number soared to 127 tonnes in 2018.

"I feel that everyday Malaysians are not aware of it because although they are areas we pass by all the time, if we don’t look, we won’t see it,” said Alena.

The musician wants the music video to have a positive impact on the daily habits of Malaysians. — Screengrab from YouTube/Alena Murang

Through Pemung Jae, the Kuching-born creative hopes that the public can start taking small but effective steps to ensure that rivers continue to flow freely.

"I feel that so often we hear or see environmental messages that don’t sink in enough to make behavioural changes.

"As an artist, part of what I do is to try and hit the core of individuals to make them think or feel things about the environment.”

The music video was made with the support of ROLPOP and EcoKnights who dedicate their efforts to river conservation programmes and other environmental causes.

For more information on how you can help Mother Nature, visit EcoKnight’s website.