Malaysians will never get bored seeing foreigners try their best to speak Malay. We’ve previously highlighted some foreigners who do it so well that we’d mistake them for genuine Malaysians. Most recently, a Serbian musician decided to show off her Malay skills in the best way she knows how – by singing!
Dijana Stena is a lawyer from Serbia who often posts herself performing and covering songs from all over the world, including Malaysia. A few days ago, while covering songs in a TikTok live, Dijana chose to cover “Lemak Manis”, a classic folk song from Malaysian singer Roslan Madun. Not only did Dijana’s choice catch the attention of Malaysians, but she also impressed netizens with her near-perfect Malay pronunciation, singing the song with little to no mistakes.
@dijanastena_official Life is like a wide angle lens if you see the funny in it 😁❤🥰 It cannot rain forever ❤ #lemakmanis #lemakmanisalaamboi #roslanmadun #lemakmanisroslanmadun #lagumelayu #lagumalaysia
However, this is not new to Dijana nor her Malaysian fans, as the Serbian singer is known to be a fan of Malaysia and its local culture and music scene. She previously impressed netizens when she covered “Isabella”, the hit song by local rock band Search. She even called the song one of her favourite Malaysian songs. The musician has even visited our country before, sharing snippets of her days in Malaysia through her social media accounts.
Many locals praised the singer for her cover and clear pronunciation of the Malay lyrics. Some Malay netizens even said that the Serbian sings the song better than they ever could. Interestingly, Dijana uses Malay when replying to comments from her Malaysian viewers, showcasing more of her love for the language.
We’re so happy to see more appreciation for our local language and music scene – and we can’t wait to hear more Malaysian song covers from Dijana.
Adleena contributed to this article.
