Lagu untuk Seorang Ibu

There are many wonderful songs that were written as dedication to the thankless job of being a mother.

As a father myself, I would not be envious not being considered in the same wavelength as the mother of my children no less.

I am only being honest here, as I am my mother's child anyway, and I know their exact sentiment, and I do know first hand the sacrifice of a mother vis-a-vis a dad.

Anyway, I am here to reminisce what I thought would be the best mother song ever written in the Malay language.

I guess I am entitled to my own thought, so I can't be challenged here. :) My only wish is for Akmal or Arif to write an equally beautiful song for their mother - one of these days.

1. Lagu Untuk Seorang Ibu - Kembara (M Nasir)

I would rate this 1981 song very highly. May be for sentimental reasons, may be. I saw the clip after coming back from my matriculation in Perth. I saw it at Nenek Bulan's house in Aulong no less and I dreaded the sentiment of the song then, not realizing that the very next year, a similar story will be rehashed for a family very dear to us and only to be followed by our very own story two years later.

2. Ibu - Blues Gang

This is another great song from the 80s. While I have never been a fan of Blues Gang and perhaps would never be, but I would always be a fan of this song by Shaik Karim.

3. Bonda - M Nasir

What can I say of this song? It is a celebration of every mother in this world. While the first two songs are sad songs lamenting the loss of someone very close in her heart, this is a happier song about the virtues of a mother.

4. Ibu - P Ramlee

I love the song by the twist in the scene where P Ramlee would sing this song as a dedication to his mother rather than the young woman in the bar scene.

I love the look of her when her face was reduced from smiling to scowling.

I'll paste her Akmal and Arif's instrumental version

5. Kasih Ibu - Sharifah Aini et al

A melancholic song about motherly love vis-a-vis fatherly love. It is a staple in Malay's psyche about parenthood, and how we perceive them.

Take the haunting violin by Arif instead for this song.

6. Mawar Putih untuk Mama - Sharifah Aini

Yes, she deserves this and more.

7. Ummi - Sulis & Haddad Alwi

I prefer the orchestral version of the this song, and both Sulis and Haddad are simply great singer

8. Ummi - Dato' Shake

At times, I thought this is a song dedicated to a girl named Umi, but I guess I was wrong. It can be for both actually, depending on your perspective.

9. Oh Ibu - Alleycats

I would not dare singing this song to be honest. It is too sad. They don't make this type of song anymore. I would always shed tears listening to this song.

10. Mama - Hetty Koes Endang

This is a break from tradition so it may not be suitable as a dedication for mother. It is extremely sad when you lost you mother. You would be crying for her.

11. Ditinggal Mama - Lilies Suryani/Uji Rashid

Same category as Hetty Koes Endang's Mama. But it is a sad song nonetheless and it involves a mother.


These are the top Ibu songs for me.

Even if I could write all these beautiful songs and dedicate each one of them to my Mak, I know I would not be able to repay my debt.