Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Insurance company AIA in Malaysia has released its Merdeka-themed campaign focusing on the importance of arts and culture as a way to preserve the diverse traditions and beliefs of Malaysia.
The digital campaign, conceptualised by Mediabrands Content Studio (MBCS), called ‘Perwira Legasi’ (translating to Legacy Heroes) was launched to celebrate a collective of passionate Malaysians who have made it their life’s mission to preserve diverse cultural legacies like traditional art, craft and performance.
In addition, their insightful stories highlight the importance of keeping Malaysian cultural legacies alive, and align with AIA’s three pillars of its ‘Total Wealth Solution’: Plan Well, Live Well and Protect Well.
Over the course of the weeks leading up to Merdeka and Malaysia Day, AIA Malaysia’s social feeds feature original reels, artistic backgrounds and information from three (3) selected local artisans and performers – Wesley Anak Juntan, a former flight attendant who makes Borneo dolls in traditional outfits; mother-daughter duo behind Lizza’s Creations, Lizza (Rosliza binti Muhammad) and Sarah (Siti Sarah binti Isharuddin), with a 28-year history of making hand-crafted Malaysian artisanal batik; and a Malay-Chinese pair, Syafizal-Syazlee Salehud-Din and Ker Yee Ting who are continuing the fading art of traditional Zapin dance.
Amir Faiz, group creative director of MBCS said, “In planning for this campaign, we realised that a lot of people have passion projects that they work on in their spare time as side hustles. It may not necessarily be something they can make a living from, but these passions are relevant and help maintain our heritage and culture. That’s why we celebrate them as ‘Perwira Legasi’. The campaign explores different themes like freedom, independence, and unity, shown through the lens of Malaysians who nurture these arts and crafts in their daily lives.”
Amir added, “The hardest part of this campaign was sifting through the heroes. These are genuine people, each with a truly unique story to share, who have real passion for what they do and create. Cultural diversity is in our very DNA as Malaysians. We hope this campaign shines a light for all Malaysians to embrace this facet before we run the risk of losing these arts as time goes by.”
