Kuala Lumpur ― Singer and composer Asfan Shah was at loss for words when he found out his song Sifar was declared the winner in the Music Is Key category at the International Media Festival For Prevention (IMFP) in Toronto, Canada recently.
Sifar beat out 288 entries from different countries. On Sept 22, the Malaysian singer took to Instagram to make the announcement and thanked his fans and followers for their support.
Sifar which is featured in the film Warkah, was produced by the Social Security Organisation (Socso) in 2019. The Music Is Key category was one of the six categories at the IMFP, reported The Star.
In an interview with Berita Harian Online, Asfan revealed that this victory is the biggest recognition he has received as an artiste. According to him, he was not feeling too confident about competing due to his lack of experience internationally, but pushed on anyway.
“I did not give up hope because I knew it was of international standard,” said the 36-year-old artiste.
“Many people already know that most of the songs I create are ballads and related to love, that was what highlighted my talent in the music industry. After two songs that failed to capture attention, this victory gives me confidence to continue producing more songs in the future.”
Asfan explained that Sifar was inspired by the true story of Sosco contributors. “The agency wanted this song to convey a message about their mission to prevent accidents at work and also on the importance of contributing for the benefit of the future,” he explained.
Born Sept 27, 1985, Norasfan Shah Shah Rudin, known popularly as Asfan Shah is a singer and songwriter in Malaysia who is known through the song Terhenti Di Sini. He has been active since 2011.
In 2018, he was nominated for Anugerah Bintang Popular Berita Harian 2017. Asfan’s songs include Terhenti Di Sini, Takkan Playboy Lagi and Tak Cuba Kembali. /TISG