Few people know about the origins of this beautiful patriotic song

(From left) Depicted at Radio Malaya in 1961, Ahmad, music copyist Fong, American bandleader from Berklee School of Music, Herb Pomeroy, music supervisor Zainal Abu, Wan Ahmad and music producer Samad Haroun. Photos: Handout

The Federal House in KL, originally built for a post office but converted to Radio Malaya’s headquarters, was a flurry of activity in 1960, since the nation achieved independence a few years prior. But Ahmad Merican (now Tan Sri) and (the late) Wan Ahmad Kamal, his young assistant, were under the cosh to contribute a patriotic song.

The two-man music unit of Radio Malaya, upon the behest of Tunku Abdul Rahman, the country’s first Prime Minister, was succeeding in meeting his demands of assembling a collection of nationalist tunes. While some of the team’s most celebrated musicians, the likes of Jimmy Boyle, Alfonso Soliano and Tony Fonseka, had made their contributions, Ahmad and Wan, as Radio Malaya administrators, felt that they, too, could contribute a tune.