Thursday, February 27, 2014

...the Pinay behind Malaysia's jingle

Voice behind Malaysia’s tourism jingle is Pinay

  
Kuala Lumpur – Many Pinoys can recognize the tune of the tourism jingle – Malaysia, Truly Asia – played many times on cable television. But not many know that the voice behind it is a Filipina singer who has become a Malaysian citizen. And fewer people know that she is one of the many Filipinos abroad who had led fund-raising campaigns to help the victims of super-typhoon “Yolanda.”




She is Maria Jazsmine, who remains a Filipino at heart. After leading a fund-raising campaign for the victims, she is now planning to establish a library for the children of Tacloban, one of the hardest hit areas.

“I’ve always said that we must not forget about the Philippines. We are still in the period of recovery,” Maria said in a media interview in Kuala Lumpur.

Raising Funds

“I’m in the midst of collaborating with many kind-hearted people who want to raise more funds for typhoon Haiyan. And I am so blessed to meet them after I spearheaded the ‘Artists United for Typhoon Haiyan’. I think we have raised more than a million for Tacloban,” the singer said.

Starting A Library

“Hopefully I would get the support of the government, or the private sector, or an NGOs to start a library in Tacloban. There are people who are willing to reach out and do more for our country,” she added.

While she appreciates the outpouring of aid to typhoon-hit Philippines, Maria Jazsmine pushed for the healing of the communities “as best as we can.” She admitted that one of her advocacies is protecting the welfare of orphan children.

Malaysia Tourism’s Voice

Maria Jazsmine put a voice to “Malaysia, Truly Asia” as part of the worldwide marketing campaign of Malaysia in 1999. Recently, she put a voice to “Heart of Blue,” another tourism campaign of the Malaysia Tourism Board.



Maria Jazsmine admitted that she is “flattered and honored” to sing the Malaysian tourism song that has been widely featured on CNN.

She recalled that she sang “Malaysia, Truly Asia” from the heart since Malaysia is home to different people and cultures.

“I really love Malaysia because they’ve been really good to me,” she said.

“I was easy to relate and to give the feeling of how Malaysia can really be ‘Truly Asia’. It’s multi-cultural, different religions, so it’s so colorful. I have to bring that out in my voice,” she added.

To date, Malaysia continues to use the popular jingle and its other versions to attract tourists.

Humility

Maria Jazsmine, also a ballet dancer, also revealed that she has been able to easily adjust to life in Malaysia mainly due to humility and an understanding of other people’s culture.

“I always believe that service starts with humility. When you humble yourself and just be true to yourself, the doors will open,” she said. “If you want to have peace, you just have to understand and tolerate,” she added.

1 comment:

  1. I read this article. I think You put a lot of effort to create this article. I appreciate your work.
    malaysia cheap tour package

    ReplyDelete