Rahim's song for the angkasawan

Touched by the determination and victory of Malaysia’s first spaceman, composer Rahim Othman penned an inspiration song. He tells SHARMILA BILLOT about the reasons behind the move.

MALAYSIA recently made history by sending a Malaysian to space.

The country’s first angkasawan, Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor touched many with his determination and victory.

Among those inspired was composer Rahim Othman who penned down an inspirational song titled Angkasawan (Impian Menjadi Kenyataan).

“The idea occurred to me when I saw him depart from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to the International Space Station using the Soyuz TMA space craft,” said Rahim.
“It was a very touching moment but I also admired his guts.

“That was when I decided to compose a song about our first angkasawan so that the euphoria of his success will not die down.

“I roughly had the music in mind but had some difficulty with the lyrics. I took 10 days to finish it.

“The idea is to motivate Malaysians of our success story in space,” added Rahim.

Angkasawan is special since Rahim has not composed for a decade.

“It’s a comeback song for me and I’m glad it’s something meaningful,” he said.

The song will be sung by newcomer Zainal Hisham Shaari.

Rahim is looking for a partner or sponsor to launch his single. He is also discussing his song with the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry for partnership projects.