As we celebrate Malaysia Day as a symbol of "freedom and fraternity", it is worth recalling that nearly two decades before the slogan 1Malaysia was coined, one national icon had already been crusading for a nation free from prejudices.

The late Sudirman Arshad, showered then with accolades such as "Malaysia's singing ambassador", our "No 1 entertainer" and even our very own Michael Jackson, championed unity up to his very last public concert just before his untimely death in 1992...