KUALA LUMPUR: Singer-songwriter Aizat Amdan's entry in the semi-finals of Muzik Muzik 32, Jangan Menangis is original, said the show's producer.
Muzik Muzik 32 executive producer Nurhul Huda Khalid, dismissed allegations that it was a Malay version of Chinese singer Hua Chen Yu's 2015 song King And Beggar.
"Aizat, Mike Chan and Faizal Tahir are the original composers and lyricists of Jangan Menangis, so claims that it was plagiarised are baseless," said Nurhul Huda in a news report on Tuesday.
Nurhul Huda also said that since Jangan Menangis had never been nominated for awards in the past, there was no problem for it to enter the semi-finals of Muzik Muzik, or even to qualify for next year's Anugerah Juara Lagu (AJL).
"Kadazan-Dusun song Anak Kampung which was sung by Jimmy Palikat once entered Anugerah Juara Lagu, as a Malay version performed by Jimmy and One Nation Emcees. As long as it's an original song performed by its original singer, songwriter and composer, it has every right to be part of the annual contest."
This year's Ramadan saw Jangan Menangis being performed by Aizat under a different name, Terima Kasih, as part of TV3's Ramadan 2017 campaign.
Netizens recently uploaded a video of King And Beggar, revealing that it shared a similar sound to Jangan Menangis. Some of them questioned if Aizat's song was derived from it, while others said it was based on Aizat’s tune.