TEN years ago, the news of the missing MH370 flight touched the hearts of every Malaysian.
Among them were Sahaq Ibrahim and Sara Razz, who at the time were performing as a vocal and guitar duo on small stages.
Inspired by this tragedy, Sahaq and Sara began writing a song that remained as a demo named 370, performed at several events but never officially released.
Now, a decade later, the song has been refreshed and professionally recorded by Sahaq’s band Motherwit. Sara has contributed her voice in her first studio recording.
Titled Dan Bila, the song is a prayer and a cry of longing from those who lost their loved ones in the MH370 tragedy.
Unresolved mystery
According to Sahaq, the song was rearranged and re-recorded because its message remains relevant today.
He says the lyrics are filled with hope, and the hope for justice for the MH370 victims will never be extinguished until it is achieved.
“When we wrote this song, many mysteries were left unresolved. Our vision was blurred.
“But after 10 years, it’s still unclear. So, all the prayers and hopes written back then still need to be voiced,” he said.
Sara shares the same sentiment, viewing the incident as a heartbreaking tragedy for anyone who hears about it.
“When I read the news of the missing plane, I could only imagine the suffering of the victims’ families. How confused they must be about what happened.
“I imagined them crafting prayers and words of longing in the midst of uncertainty, not knowing what really happened,” Sara said.
A plane named Hope
The struggle to face such a heart-wrenching mystery is conveyed in the music video for Dan Bila, featuring young talent Isa Ahmad alongside Motherwit members and Sara herself.
Isa’s character is portrayed as a lonely child missing someone. The deep sense of longing is hard to process, represented by a flood of black paper airplanes always surrounding Isa.
Yet, amid the sea of black, a white paper airplane appears, symbolising hope.
“For us, hope is what keeps our feelings alive for something that’s no longer there. That’s what we’re trying to convey in this music video,” said Sahaq, who also directed the video.
Sahaq admits he can never fully grasp the suffering experienced by the families and loved ones of the MH370 victims, but they try to convey the sorrow they felt through reading and watching stories about the tragedy.
The music video for Dan Bila was launched on Motherwitnoise YouTube channel yesterday.
