Prejudice or patriotism?

Benjamin Britten is best known for being a world-renowned musician and creator of endless melodies. Music was his passion and he loved the art, that is why the melodies that have been created by him have been etched into people’s hearts and made memorable.

But this great artist and expert composer also saw that day when several attempts were rejected and the irony is that the cause of rejection has not been specified. There was no satisfactory response to inquiries in this regard and this composer couldn’t get the reason until the last breath.

It was 1957, when the UK’s Queen Registered its seal on Malaysia’s independence. The month of August was almost near and the nation was eager for the first celebration of independence. June dates on the calendar were moving fast. But the newly independent state government had not yet decided on national flags and anthems and was worried about it.

Benjamin Britten was famous for the world music that was also known in this regard. The government contacted him and he soon put a tune in front of a government representative but it did not receive the acceptance certificate. The reason for this was not stated, but the authorities’ silence seemed to be mysterious.

Later, more melodies were sought from Benjamin Britten, which he completed and handed over to the authorities, but the strange thing is that the Malaysian song is a contemporary song.

This secret opened after the death of Breton in 1976 when a British researcher compiled the history of the song. It was learned that Malaysian authorities have handed the “tape” of several local songs, declaring the musician’s first lyrics inappropriate for a national anthem, and instructed them to arrange a melody that matched them.

Expert musician handed over a set of lyrics to a government representative a week before Independence Day and got satisfied. But surprisingly the lyrics of the poem read on Independence Day were directed by a French composer.He wondered why this happened, but he could not know the real reason for it all his life . Researchers says the reason behind this was his Britain’s citizenship. 

Researcher says, Probably the government later came to the idea that Benjamin was a native of the country from which they are just been released from slavery and the lyrics of a song by a composer from the same UK can be a topic of discussion anytime and the nation may not accept it and in a hurry hired a French musician to compose a national anthem.