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The haze situation has been fluctuating in Singapore and Malaysia. There are hardly any signs of clear skies in Indonesia. Other neighboring countries have also experienced varying degrees of air quality. Now that there’s social media, many content creators and influencers have been posting their own thoughts and responses on the haze situation. While parodies are common and popular, Mikaela Qistina’s own response to the haze has been emotional and worth highlighting. Perhaps, she also chose the right song to cover, Faouzia’s “Unethical”, except that it’s done in Malay, compulsory in Malaysian schools and for some at tertiary level, should you not meet the minimum requirement to otherwise be exempted from sitting the significantly tougher Bahasa Kebangsaan papers then.

Mikaela Qistina creatively uses, translates, and adapts the pre-chorus of Faouzia’s “Unethical” in her cover version, adding a sense of urgency to the portion to reflect the severity of the haze situation. Mikaela Qistina is surely sad and angry about the whole situation – in one of her versions with some commentary, she pointed out that she saw a video of an orang utan clinging on to a treetop, which according to news sources, has been rescued by the Indonesian authorities. Mikaela Qistina stressed that the haze isn’t funny, considering it has been years, affecting schools, with many having to close for weeks, even before there were video-conferencing tools like Zoom and Microsoft Teams (Some of us might remember not going to school in 2005 because of the haze – also the worst since 1997). Today, the school closures are unpredictable, and we can only pray for the environment, especially now that it’s safer to stay indoors.

Following the good response from Mikaela Qistina’s followers on her first version (posted across TikTok and Instagram), she made a more dramatic version (without all the commentary), intensifying the pre-chorus. In this version, you can see that the KL Tower looks very different from what most Malaysians, tourists and expats are used to.

The highlight of her cover:

“Sedangkan

runtuh langitku, kini berdebu

Rimba bercahaya jingga

Nafasku layu, demi kuasa

Adakah ini beretika?”

How long more do we have to wait for clear skies? To paraphrase the ending of Mikaela Qistina’s dramatic version.

Written for Faouzia’s album “Film Noir”, “Unethical” was inspired by her own experience with a partner who gave her an ultimatum – marriage or music career, which anyone with a sound mind would consider ridiculous. Why should one party have to sacrifice something that really gives them life for partners who can, on the flip side, chase their own dreams without any questions asked?  Faouzia was born in Morocco, but moved to Canada at a young age. As a 26-year-old, she speaks of her Morrocan roots with pride, and this is evident through her vocals and style of music, including her yodeling. While Faouzia has her catalogue mainly in English, she would also sing in French and Mandarin Chinese. Other than that, she would also sing in Arabic, which she is also fluent in.

Faouzia attended one of the concerts held by Imagine Dragons, which she cites as one of her influences. Faouzia’s other influences include Khaled, Adele, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, and Ariana Grande.

Mikaela Qistina, a singer-content creator, recently got invited to the Creators For Impact 2026 event, organized by YouTube. Mikaela Qistina has a Malaysian-Chinese paternal grandmother.