A song featuring former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad is one of the six nominated for ‘Best Song of the Year’ in next month’s independent music awards, the VIMAs.

Malique's ‘Layu’, which included an excerpt of Mahathir’s favourite poem, ‘Perjuangan Yang Belum Selesai’, was one of the nominees unveiled last night.

The Best Song of The Year nominees for VIMA 2008 (Voice Independent Music Awards) are:

1. Wanting You - Deja Voodoo Spells

4. Stay - Estrella

"It's a real mix bag of songs and we're glad that the judges picked these songs as their top six from 14 shortlisted best songs," said Siva Chandran, chief judge and founder of VIMA 2008.

"There's hip-hop, reggae, pop and rock in the nomination list, and even Tun Dr Mahathir makes a cameo, via an excerpt of his speech used on Malique's Layu."

‘Layu’ is one of the two hot favourites. The other is ‘Wanting You’ by Deja Voodoo Spells.

Rithan's ( right ) sexy slow vocals on ‘Wanting You’ before launching into a cantankerous brawl is a song, according to some music critics, worthy enough to chart on the US modern rock tracks.

On the other hand, Malique's ( below ) bold haunting Malay rap style on ‘Layu’ has been hailed as one of the best hip-hop songs on Malaysian soil.

Mahathir was sporting enough to give his consent for an excerpt of his speech to be used on the track, making him perhaps Malaysia's first indie politician.

However, Altimet's upbeat hip-hop ‘Chantek’ and Estrella's breezy-pop on ‘Stay’ have greater appeal, and may win over the judges.

Dark horses for this category are Pure Vibracions who have given the music industry a real breath of fresh air with their Marley-esque reggae sounds, and One Buck Short, who mash traditional Malay beats with a surge of punk-rock on ‘Kelibat Korupsi’.

Asian indie awards coming soon

The excitement has been building up towards Malaysia's first indie music awards, which has now gained international recognition, and is expected to be the benchmark for indie music awards in Asia.

The awards will be held on Jan 17, 2009 at Titanium, Phileo Damansara.

Over 400 people are expected to attend this ‘by invite only’ event, and will be graced by almost 150 music celebrities.

VIMA 2008 is organised by Voize.my, an Asian lifestyle and entertainment portal based in Malaysia.

For the full list of the VIMA nominees, click here .

Voize.my will also be organising Asia's First Independent Music Awards, the AVIMAs, on March 21, 2009 at the same venue.

It will comprise of 12 participating countries - China, India, Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Philippines, Kazakhstan, UAE, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

For more details on how to win exclusive invites for the VIMAs, visit voize.my .