The latest phenomenon sweeping our sector of cyberspace is, arguably, Here In My Home, a modest-but-earnest tune -- and music video -- decrying racism and espousing that elusive ideal: human, all-inclusive unity.

Yet saccharine optimism is not all that fashionable, so Malaysian Artistes For Unity, the modest-but-earnest group behind the song, has become a target for criticism; anonymous posters and journalists alike have expressed suspicion as to their intentions (for example: a number of readers on MalaysiaToday have accused the video of being Barisan Nasional propaganda).

But, on the Internet, it is often the trolls that shout the loudest; with that in mind, via e-mail interview, we present Pete Teo, instigator and de facto spokesperson of MAFU, in a spirited defence of his no-money, no-official-support, and all-love project.

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The Malaysian Artistes For Unity website says that Here In My Home was something born out of boredom. Were you really juggling tomatoes? Tell us how the idea solidified.

Pete Teo: No, I wasn't juggling tomatoes exactly. But I did have an entire month free after 24 months of non-stop work and felt a little ill-at-ease. Albert Law (friend and eventual assistant producer of the project) suggested that I put my restlessness to some use by doing a multi-artiste project that promotes racial unity in Malaysia. I wasn't sure at first, because such efforts can be fairly cheesy. But I also felt the cause was an important one and not something I should dismiss simply because it is not “edgy, cynical and cool”...

There were problems though -- mainly to do with having to communicate a message of hope to an audience many of whom have grown cynical or suspicious of official efforts in this area. It came down to whether we could not only make a song and video that is accessible, but also whether we could steer the project in a way that gained the trust of as many people as possible. After a few days of letting it sink in, I decided that we owed it to ourselves to at least have an attempt. So I began dialling the phone.

Give us a phonecall-by-phonecall chronology of this mind-virus's prodigious spread. How did things come together? Given the energy and high spirits of our current socio-political climate, do you think the past few months were a particular opportune time for such a project?

PT: We took this project from scratch into full production within a few very intense weeks -- so I can't actually remember when everyone came onboard, beyond the first 3 or 4 people. I only remember that 52 people confirmed three days after my first call, and over 120 people came to the shoot four weeks later. The speed with which things happened was pretty astonishing -- even more so if you consider that I only knew 10 of these people before the project started. So it certainly wasn't a case of things being quick merely because all the participants were my friends.

The only real snag throughout was the difficulty in securing participation from mainstream artistes in the Chinese pop scene. The wariness and indifference on the part of these artistes for a project not endorsed by officialdom was palpable. To me, this sums up the state of the nation right now. We seem to live on different islands ruled by different sovereigns.

I don't think the post-election timing of the project is very significant. Admittedly, the overwhelmingly positive response from the public for Here In My Home (both the song and the video) may partly be a reaction to party-political developments after the election, but the central issue of the project -- that of racial unity -- has resonated with Malaysians for as long as I have lived. As such, if this project had happened five years ago, it would still be as relevant as it is today. We certainly did not do it because of the election.

The MAFU credo is adamantly -- almost defiantly -- non-partisan. Why would being affiliated with a particular political allegiance be something to be avoided, conceptually?

PT: There are two reasons for this:

One: to my mind, racial unity is an idea that should be espoused by all political parties in this country. It is too fundamental and crucial an idea for a society like ours not to be so. To accept association or endorsement by one or other political party actually undermines that basic premise.

Two: the fact that we are non-aligned politically and not associated with official efforts to promote racial harmony -- which has long been dismissed by a huge segment of the population as cheesy propaganda -- is crucial in helping us present a focused message to the public.

Underlining both reasons is this: the project has a very simple message to deliver. So why complicate it? I think the fact that we are not embroiled in the mud-fight of party politics has elevated our credibility -- at least by as much as the fact that we did not spend a single cent (bar phone bills and incidentals).

Have you looked at your telephone bill, yet?

PT: I have not and dare not. There were days when I sent out over 500 text messages in a mass mail frenzy.

No one's going to be helping to pay your bill; the project has been intentionally pro bono for everyone involved. Why was this a conscious decision?

PT: Why not? I have never believed that things will only happen with money behind it -- not always, anyway – and, in this case, I frankly did not think we'd need money to put it together. So, again, why complicate things when there is no need to?

Cheesy though it may sound, this project is about friendship and love above all else, and we were all keen to keep it that way. I think you will find that most Malaysians, despite the near constant griping, love this country more than even they will ever know. Moreover, I believe one does not really have a right to gripe about anything unless one is prepared to do something to improve things. So I, personally, saw this as something that would earn me my right to gripe. I don't think I was the only one.

Taking Credit, Shouldering Responsibility

How dangerous is it for a performer (say, a popular musician or actor) to declare allegiance to an anti-racist creed -- or any kind of socio-political stand, for that matter?

PT: I wouldn't say it is “dangerous”. It does have tangible effects on careers though -- the extent of which depends ultimately on who these performers are.

For instance, an artiste who is very popular in the mainstream would have fans holding all kinds of conflicting beliefs and ideologies. For such an artiste to make a socio-political stand publicly very often means alienating sections of his or her fan base. Moreover, a huge amount of his or her earnings would come in the form of sponsorships and endorsements – which, in this country, is often sourced from corporations linked to political interest groups. Most choose to stay clear of contentious socio-political issues for that reason alone.

People who belittle artiste involvement in efforts like ours under-estimate the real commitment of these artistes for the cause they support.

You've remarked, in other interviews, to the effect that the lack of political alignment and sponsor money is precisely so that the project remains "clean". And yet people are still suspicious! Why is that?

PT: I have no idea. Perhaps it is something to do with the fact that most high profile projects of this kind in Malaysia are normally funded by either the government or some big corporation.

Apart from the odd comment on Youtube questioning our intentions, doubters tend to be from a minority of the media. We had several reporters at the press conference who could not move beyond the question: “Why did you REALLY do this?” -- as if doing it for the sake of racial unity is insufficient in itself. Others did not even speak to us, but instead relied on a half-page press release to cast suspicion on whether there was a hidden agenda behind the project -- “they must be PKR.” Perhaps they cannot fathom why a group of people would do this for nothing more than belief in a vision of Malaysia beyond what it is today.

Why take up race, anyway? What are your thoughts on the subject? If the construct of race is a bitter gift of the colonial bureaucracy, why has modern-day Malaysia perpetuated it? Is government social engineering solely to blame -- or does this malaise have other roots?

PT: I think to blame the colonial experience for any malaise we face today is lame. The facts are these: 50 years after the colonials have left, huge segments of our communities continue to be segregated; politicians play the race card whenever it is advantageous to do so; race-supremacist editors attack any effort to bridge the racial divide on grounds of “cultural purity” (including stuff like sweet films about inter-racial lovers); teenagers on Internet forums openly say they hate certain races because of perceived inequities.

Now, I could go on -- but there is no need. The point is, we have been masters of our on destiny for 50 years, and it is time to stop blaming external factors for our problems. If we are to take credit for the undoubted achievements that our country has made in that time, it is not unreasonable to expect us to take the blame for her shortcomings, too. And by “us” I don't only mean the government of the day, but rather the entire polity. Ultimately, we are all responsible for what happens in our own backyard.

MAFU has embraced the viral paradigm for it's particular meme. Cynic that I am, I find it hard to believe that the majority of Malaysians necessarily believe that racial difference is unnecessary / irrelevant -- so "Here In My Home" 's strategy, to me, is less an affirmation of a widespread belief, than the packaging of a sentiment in a packet potent enough for pandemic infection: art to change people's minds, outreach instead of preaching to converts. How in line is that to what the group was trying to achieve?

PT: Taken to its logical extent, your thesis could apply to anything that uses modern technology to spread its message -- from the most popular (The Inconvenient Truth) to the most obscure (Left-handed Knitting).

Yet you seem to suggest that tens of thousands of Malaysians are only taking the trouble to download the song or embed the video because they are particular easy meat to “pandemic infection”. I think you will find that people are more sophisticated than you give them credit for. Yes, the nature of the medium does reduce things to their simplest form for easy transmission -- but if the message doesn't resonate in the first place, no amount of clever packaging will make it do so ...

Whatever the cynics think, the point here isn't whether or not we had a conscious strategy to make “art to change people's minds”, but that racial unity as an issue happened to find resonance among a huge section of the Malaysian public. Trying to cast doubt upon that basic observation seems too much like trying to work the facts backwards in order to fit a cool theory or prior agenda.

Still, to answer your question directly: no, we did not sit down and ask ourselves “how do we cause a pandemic stampede by being very artful and clever.” Rather, we concentrated on making a song and video with as much craft and honesty as possible. Simple as that. The scale of the project's success was as much a surprise to us as to anyone else.

Is art, is a song really that powerful?

PT: Not always, but I guess it can be. I also believe that it is the zeitgeist that makes certain art powerful -- not the other way round. Bob Dylan would have been ignored if he had not emerged in a period when America was already questioning herself.

The Song

Tell us about the song itself. Were you wholly responsible?

PT: I wanted Here In My Home to not only address whatever we have achieved but also acknowledge our failings. As such, in addition to a proclamation of kinship, the song invokes the presence of shadows in our midst and stony ground underfoot: pale metaphors that are not only staples in the folk music tradition from which I draw influence, but also one of the reasons why the song has been well-received. Fact is, even tourists know that we don't live in “Malaysia Truly Asia”, let alone most Malaysians -- so there was absolutely no need to be anything other than truthful. People tend to react better to an honest appraisal of their situation than a whitewash, anyway.

Other than that, it is just a very accessible pop song about hope. It certainly does not justify the sort of deconstructionist over-think that you laboured through in your blog.

As for whether I am wholly responsible for it: of course not. I wrote it -- but co-producer Greg Henderson and mixing and mastering engineer Nick Lee were as much responsible for how the song turned out as I. The multi-lingual rap vocal section was contributed by KLG Swqad and Altimet. They all did a superb job.

What was recording and filming like? Tell us stories.

PT: One story will suffice.

We had 20 volunteers on the day of the shoot. They were Chinese in their early 20s: born here, grew up here, and will likely grow old and die here. Yet many of them did not know what Awie looked like -- or indeed, who he was. You could mention Maya Karin or Ning Baizura, and they would have likewise given you blank stares. Just as you and most of your readers will likely have no idea who Guang Liang or Chan Fong is, even though they are very visible public figures in the Chinese community. So here: this is another example of how we live on different islands.

Still, these volunteers stayed up till dawn studying photographs of everyone the night before the shoot. Why? Because they were especially thrilled by people who share a common vision of their country, some of whom were Malay stars, and they wanted to greet them by their first names. So here is the reality of Malaysia: the problem and the hope -- both laid bare.

Here In My Home has been doing exceptionally well: radio-play, a capella versions by bloggers, No 7 on Metro UK's list of most-forwarded videos. You happy? What's next?

PT: I think it is important to put things in perspective. As of the date of this interview, we have transmitted about 60,000 downloads from the official site; we have been played about 80,000 times on Youtube; we have been heard by approximately 10 million people on radio; and the video has been embedded on over 500 blogs and platforms. All of this in merely 12 days. As anyone in the music industry will tell you, these are extremely impressive numbers -- numbers that indicate the extent to which we have touched a nerve.

Yet, the issue of racial unity is inextricably tied up with public policy and a host of other difficult factors within a democracy like ours. There is only so much a song and a video can do. As such, although we are gratified by the public response, the reality is that much more has to be done. I hope people will take things into their own sphere of influence and do what they can. For instance, there is currently a lot of public interest in not only helping us spread the word, but also doing spin-off MAFU projects, or entirely independent projects to promote racial unity. I think that's a good direction to take this thing. As far as I am concerned, the more people take ownership and participate in this dialogue, the better.

Any plans for future MAFU endeavours?

PT: Lots of stuff have been suggested. Undoubtedly, some will work out and others will not. None are confirmed as yet anyway -- so I cannot talk about them.

Also: what's with guavas, anyway?

PT: We did not want to put pictures of the artistes on the site. Other than for reasons of space constraints, to do so would immediately underplay the enormous effort put in by people who did not appear in front of the camera. So we decided to put up pictures of fruits instead: as a self-deprecating pun for “a bunch of fruitcakes”.

Most visitors find the guavas funny. It is the most popular joke on the forum.

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Zedeck Siew writes and blogs for Kakiseni.

Malaysian Artistes For Unity's Here In My Home, written by Pete Teo, with music video directed by Yasmin Ahmad and Ho Yuhang, performed by loads of people, was launched on May 15th, 2008. Some thoughts about the song and video here.