KUALA LUMPUR – Perikatan Nasonal (PN) Youth has been on the receiving end of scorn and brickbats after releasing the theme song for its AkuPN initiative.
A video clip of the song Mengejar Aspirasi that had English grammatical errors and a seemingly tone-deaf message was panned on Twitter.
Eagle-eyed users of the social media platform were quick to note the glaring mistakes in the English portion of the bilingual ditty.
The barrage of criticism came after the cheery song’s video clip was uploaded by PAS Youth chief Khairil Nizam Khirudin on Saturday evening.
Saya bercita-cita nak bawa team anak muda Malaysia menjadi 'frontliners' dalam misi memulihkan ekonomi negara.
— Ir. Ts. Khairil Nizam (@IrKhairilNizam) May 8, 2021
Saya nak buktikan kepada dunia bahawa bangsa Malaysia mampu harungi cabaran 'global pandemic' ini melalui langkah kita bersama. pic.twitter.com/9RFFniMvoU
“Those were the days when we fight for each other. Support, lean towards one another. We persevere through this rough times, it won't last long, this hard times (sic),” read the song’s lyrics on the video.
The song induced eye-rolls when the lyrics mentioned the words “democracy”, given that the ruling coalition was not voted in during the last election, while also suspending Parliament through the proclamation of the emergency in January.
“Our motherland, our country, glory to democracy, battles thrown, fighting the unknown, tough times don’t last, tough people do (sic),” the lyrics read.
Twitter user Shafiqah Othman pointedly asked if the songwriters were delusional
I'm crying ? Rakyat merana, siap trending #KerajaanGagal. Akhirnya, PN cuma balas dengan "ada usaha terancang tanam kebencian terhadap kerajaan" and A SONG!
— Shafiqah Othman (@sfqomhz) May 8, 2021
Dah lah ada lirik "Glory to democracy", tapi ditubuhkan backdoor. Korang semua ada gangguan delusi ke? ? https://t.co/sdvobGtR4e
Responding to Shafiqah’s post, another user Mikhail Hafiz (@IMMikhailHafiz) poked fun at the grammatical faux pas peppered throughout the English portion of the song.
"WE PERSEVERE THROUGH THIS HARD TIMES"
— Mikhail Hafiz (@IMMikhailHafiz) May 9, 2021
"IT WON'T LAST LONG, THIS HARD TIMES"
Perhaps they would get much further with the citizenry if they learn how to differentiate between singular and plural first. I'm sure English grammar is part of our national education syllabus.
A user with the handle “might of Mars Skull darling of Venus Rose” (@TheVenusDarling) slammed the song as embarrassing, lamenting the “lost” 10 seconds from watching it.
Another user with the handle MB (@MBolhassan) pointed to the irony of the defections secured by the Perikatan Nasional government to secure a majority, while claiming to champion democracy.
In his initial post, Khairil Nizam Khirudin said he had ambitions to turn Malaysian youth into “frontliners” in his mission to restore the country’s economy.
“I want to prove to the world that Malaysians can take on the challenge of the global pandemic through steps taken together.”
It is also understood that the music video was made to promote the AkuPN initiative, which is a website that provides employment vacancy listings, upskilling and information on starting businesses. – The Vibes, May 10, 2021
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