PETALING JAYA, April 24 — In the spirit of Ramadan, and in accordance with the directives of the movement control order (MCO), the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) has released a new song to convey their message to the public.
Titled Ramadan Datang, the song aims to not only celebrate the holy month of fasting but also act as a reminder to Malaysians to stay at home during the MCO.
The song, inspired by Indonesian jazz singer Tompi’s Ramadhan Datang, was uploaded onto PDRM’s official social media pages late last night, as representatives wished all Malaysians happy Ramadan.
PDRM music director and one of the lead singers in the song ASP Mesmoro Edward told Malay Mail that the music video aims to keep spirits up during the fasting season — especially those of their own officers.
“I am proud to be one of the officers representing PDRM in this project. We have to tell the frontliners and Malaysians to keep up the hard work and not give up during Ramadan,” said Edward.
“Most of the officers in PDRM are frontliners as well in the fight against Covid-19. This song is dedicated to telling them not to give up in Ops Covid this fasting month in order to stop the spread of the virus.”
Edward, 33, is also the head of the KL police marching band and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in music studies at University Malaysia Sabah.
He added that the song cover was reworked to suit the times by Selangor CID chief SAC Datuk Fadzil Ahmad, who then approached Edward’s musically-talented police team to perform the re-written song.
“It was Datuk Fadzil’s plan to do this. After writing the song he asked my unit for help to perform,” he said.
He added that once they were given their task it only took just over a week to get the music video for the song done.
“It took only four days for us to practice. Then one day for recording, one for video shooting and two days for editing,” said Edward.
“But we had to record it in our own studio — which doesn’t have a lot of equipment — because there aren’t any studios open during MCO.”
He explained that a total of 30 police officers took part in the making of the music video, with a mixture of different elements from his KL police band unit including acoustics, bagpipes, gamelan and drum corp.
It was surreal to watch one policeman play his instrument in the middle of an empty Jalan Bukit Bintang while a group of bagpipers played at Suria KLCC including at the connecting bridge between the Petronas Twin Towers.
Police marching bands are traditionally employed during national, state or royal events to liven up the environment with musical entertainment, with the police having band units in states such as Sabah, Sarawak and Kedah.
Edward also said that while the practising and recording went smoothly, the officers faced a number of challenges because of the Covid-19 outbreak.
“Half of the officers involved are part of the human resources assistance ops for Covid-19,” said Edward.
“During practice and recording, we were strict and maintained social distancing protocols but it’s always a challenge when there’s a group of people involved.”
He said that he hoped Malaysians would do more than just sing along or enjoy the music to Ramadan Datang.
“The song is catchy. But it is also a message for all Malaysians to tell them to stay at home and abide by the rules of the MCO,” said Edward.
The music video has received over 25,000 views since it was released last night as many social media users praised all Malaysian police officers for their efforts.
“You guys are awesome! You aren’t just sacrificing your lives out there but you’re also entertaining Malaysians,” wrote one user.
While other users also wished all policemen a safe and happy month of fasting.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced during his special address that the MCO would be extended until May 12, noting that precautionary measure must be kept going until the disease was fully under control.
