KUALA LUMPUR: Singer, songwriter and composer Damian Mikhail Seet of VE fame has urged Netizens to refrain from questioning rock song Pelukan Angkasa's win at the recent Anugerah Juara Lagu 36 (AJL36).
Damian said that the 10-member jury panel of AJL36 headed by music director Datuk Mokhzani Ismail and comprising esteemed musicians, producers and academicians as Datuk Syafinaz Selamat, Helen Yap, Faizal Tahir and Altimet had given sound reasons for their decision last Sunday.
"AJL judges always reach their decisions in a fair and professional manner. We music lovers should accept their verdict and move on, instead of making baseless accusations," said Damian in a Facebook post yesterday.
Damian added: "Sekumpulan Orang Gila (SOG) and Shila Amzah did a great job with Pelukan Angkasa. The judges and audiences were mesmerised. Their win was well-deserved."
He urged Malaysians to accept the fact that the various music genres had an equal chance of winning AJL, and that included pop-rock songs created by independent acts such as SOG.
"We must learn to celebrate all genres of music. There is nothing wrong for independent acts to win, since many of them have been embraced by mainstream music fans.
"We should stop behaving like cattle, wanting only our favourite genre to win and unwilling to accept diversity. AJL is a celebration of all good music," said Damian.
Pelukan Angkasa, a passionate, dark yet liberating song about optimism amidst forbidden love, saw Shila team up with SOG for the first time.
The song described by Mokhzani as "out of the ordinary" was written by theatre actress Fazleena Hishamuddin and composed by Raja Nazrin Shah of SOG. It earned them the Best Song prize of RM100,000.
AJL36 was held at Dewan Merdeka in the World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur (WTCKL) at 9pm on Sunday and was broadcast live on TV3.