PETALING JAYA: Few words capture Malaysia’s spirit better than the rousing cry of “Malaysia Boleh”.

From classrooms to stadiums, the slogan has long echoed unity and pride.

The man behind it, sports marketing veteran Datuk Dina Rizal, prefers to downplay his role, insisting it was a collective effort but there’s no denying how the phrase has amplified national unity for decades.

The 75-year-old Dina, who spearheaded the campaign in the early 1990s, said the story of Malaysia Boleh was never about individual credit, but instead a story of passion and patriotism that brought a country together on the world stage.

“I don’t want to claim it as mine,” said Dina with humility.

“It was a team effort. It was not one person who came up with it. And Malaysians embraced it.

“That’s why it became powerful.”

For Dina, the message of Malaysia Boleh has always been about unity.

The message began with a simple mission in 1992 – to cheer on Malaysian athletes abroad. It was a request from the then Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) president Tan Sri Hamzah Abu Samah.

Dina recalled that Hamzah rang him up to brainstorm the idea, and after more sessions with his team, the slogan came to life.

But it then grew into something much larger and the whole country rallied behind the slogan, making it synonymous with the country’s spirit of togetherness.

One voice, one heartbeat, one nation: Datuk Dina Rizal sharing his thoughts. — LOW LAY PHON/The Star

“What touched me most was how it united people. It didn’t matter what race you were, when you shouted ‘Malaysia Boleh’, you were just Malaysian,” said Dina.

“For once, we were not divided by race or background. Just one voice, one heartbeat, and one nation,” he said.

But since his retirement from the corporate world and as Milo’s brand manager in 2004, Dina’s yearning for unity has never faded, and he continues to pursue the same cause through SportsUnite, a grassroots platform where diversity is prioritised.

The sports club have one key rule that sets it apart from others: each team must be made up of players of different races.

They recently held an Under-18 Boys Unity Futsal Carnival for the Datuk Santokh Singh Trophy at the WNZ Sports Arena in Puchong, which saw teams having to be composed of players of at least two different races at all playing times on the court. The unity-fostering event also saw the attendance of OCM president Tan Sri Norza Zakaria and football legend Santokh, whose presence inspired the youngsters who took part.

“Unity has no finish line,” said Dina.

“It’s not something you can achieve once and keep forever. But something that we must always chase and nurture.

“Even after I retired, I felt so strong about the importance of unity.

“So I said I should do something about it, because when I looked around, nobody else seemed to be doing it,” he added.

Having been part of the Malaysian sporting scene for many years, especially during the country’s highest achievements in the 1990s, Dina reminisced about his fondest memories at the time.

Among his proudest moments was witnessing Malaysia’s historic Thomas Cup win in 1992 on home soil, which ended a 25-year drought in men’s badminton.

At the time, Dina was handling Milo’s sponsorship role and had just one advertising board at courtside, but thanks to a friendly cameraman, the single logo still found its way into millions of Malaysian living rooms.

But what mattered most to him was not the branding, but instead the way the country came together.

“That night, people forgot about politics, race, or religion.

“For one night, everyone was just Malaysian. That was the power sports brought to the country,” said Dina.

As if it were yesterday, Dina recalled the stadium erupted in celebration, and Malaysian badminton patron Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali cheered the team.

“It was one of the proudest moments of my career, not because of the sponsorship, but because of how Malaysians united as one family,” he said.

Six years later, Dina talked about the same spirit that was evident during the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, which saw Malaysia get its best-ever result haul of 10 gold medals.

“The flags waving, the support from the crowd, the songs that were sung, it was ‘Malaysia Boleh’ everywhere you turned.

“You felt proud to be Malaysian,” he said.

For Dina, unity has never been something that only exists in utopia, but something that is sought out each day.

And on Merdeka today, Dina’s message remains the same.

“Sports taught me that unity is possible, and it doesn’t happen by accident.

“It only happens when we all decide to come together.”

With that, Dina believes the spirit of Malaysia Boleh will never fade.