Jeshurun Vincent

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Jeshurun Vincent
Jeshurun Vincent was awarded Malaysia Book of Records for visiting 102 countries as a solo Malaysian traveler in 2020.jpg
Jeshurun Vincent was awarded Malaysia Book of Records
Nationality Malaysian
Education Universiti Malaysia Sabah
Occupation(s)Musician, author, inspirational speaker, motivation speaker
Known forGlobal musical journey, Malaysia Book of Records holder
Notable workInto the Potter's Hands

Jeshurun Vincent (born 5 November 1987) is a Malaysian traveling musician, author, and inspirational speaker who gained recognition for his global musical journey despite being partially deaf; he was raised in Kajang, Malaysia.

Contents

Early life and education

Jeshurun was born as Jeshurun Fatianathan on 5 November 1987 in Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Jeshurun's early musical experiences began in school where, like many Malaysian students, he was required to learn the flute (perhaps better known as the recorder). By his own admission, he struggled with the instrument, once stating, "I was so bad at it that teachers used to hit me with the flute. It was very painful and I began disliking that instrument." [1]

At age 14, Jeshurun was initially deemed "too small" for music by a local music school. After four years, he was finally enrolled and chose the bass guitar as his instrument, despite it being equal to his height at the time. [1]

Hearing impairment

At the age of 19, Jeshurun's life changed dramatically when he woke up one day partially deafened due to an aggressive virus that damaged most of his hearing. This condition posed a significant challenge to his musical aspirations but ultimately became part of his inspirational story. [2] [3]

Career

Music and global travels

Jeshurun began his international travels as a musician in August 2014, initially visiting countries in Asia before expanding to other continents. [1] He typically performs instrumental music rather than vocals, finding it to be a universal language that requires no translation and allows him to connect with audiences across language barriers. [4] [2] [5] [6] [7] [8]

By June 2020, Jeshurun had set a record in The Malaysia Book of Records for visiting 102 countries as a solo Malaysian traveler. [9] [3] He was also invited to speak at TEDx in one of the online conference. [10] By December 2022, he had expanded his journey to 123 countries across all continents. [11] During his travels, Jeshurun collects flags from each nation he visits and sews them onto his guitar case as mementos. [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] He has visited 155 countries across the 7 continents. [18]

Jeshurun's approach to travel follows three principles: [1]

FIFA World Cup 2022 performance

In December 2022, Jeshurun performed at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar as part of the FIFA Fan Festival in Doha, Qatar. He performed in a place that had previously hosted many international artists. [11]

During his performance, Jeshurun proudly displayed the Malaysian flag while playing songs on his electrical guitar. His repertoire included his most of his instrumental composition and World Cup cover songs instrumental version such as "Hayya Hayya (Better Together)". [11]

Cultural ambassador for Malaysia

Jeshurun has played a significant role in sharing Malaysian culture and tourism through his international travels and performances. In 2022, he collaborated with the Embassy of Malaysia in Madrid an after that Budapest (2023) to promote Malaysia through his music and travel experiences. [19] [20] During his visit to Hungary, he shared his experiences of visiting over 130 countries and performed Malaysian songs, helping to showcase Malaysian culture and tourism to the Hungarian audience. [19] In 2024, he visited Ireland [21] after that he also visited Brunei, where he was invited by the Embassy of Malaysia in Brunei to share his experience and present Malaysian culture too. [22] He also visited a number of African nations this 2025 such as Comoros, South Africa and many more. [23] [24] [25] [26]

Charitable work and community service

A significant aspect of Jeshurun's charitable work involves organizing and participating in football matches for various causes. In early 2024, he played a pivotal role in BIC FC's international charity match in Singapore, an initiative focused on combating food poverty together with a NGO called Gift of Love (GOL). The event was notably officiated by Dato' Dr. Azfar Mohamad Mustafar, the Malaysian Ambassador to Singapore, highlighting the diplomatic significance of the occasion. Prior to the match, Jeshurun, alongside his team, demonstrated their commitment to community service by visiting an orphanage in Johor, where they engaged in activities with the children. As team captain, he led BIC FC in a competitive match that ended in a 4-2 defeat, though the result was secondary to the event's primary goal of raising awareness about food poverty and fostering Malaysia-Singapore bilateral relations through sports. The initiative exemplified Jeshurun's approach to combining athletics with social causes, using sports as a platform for community building and charitable work. [27]

CFOURJ and musical career

Jeshurun is founder, main vocalist of the music band CFOURJ, with whom he performed and participated in various media appearances and has few music albums. His association with CFOURJ included interviews on platforms such as Astro V'buzz with Daryl Baptist and Rueben Thevandran. [28]

Published works

In 2017, Jeshurun published his first book titled "Into the Potter's Hands". [29] [1] He has also produced a mini-series which describes overcoming physical and emotional adversity through faith.

Recognition and awards

Personal life

Jeshurun believes in God, which he credits as a source of strength in overcoming his hearing impairment and other life challenges. He experience personal loss when his mother, whom he described as his "biggest fan," died shortly before the COVID-19 lockdowns began in Malaysia. [9] [3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Jeshurun Vincent: remains an optimist despite life's hurdles". Raajje.mv. 6 July 2019.
  2. 1 2 S, Bissme. "The music of his heart". thesun.my. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
  3. 1 2 3 Koshy, Elena (2020-07-26). "Malaysia Book of Records holder spreads hope through music despite facing devastating losses | New Straits Times". NST Online. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
  4. "Despite being partially deaf, this musician travelled to 102 countries alone & set a MSian record". Wau Post. 8 April 2022.
  5. "Malaysian globetrotter on journey since 2014 shares his tales in Brunei". The Star. 2023-10-23. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
  6. Camparsi, Maria Letizia (2024-10-15). "Dalla Malesia a San Marino: la storia di Jeshurun, guarito dalla musica" [From Malaysia to San Marino: The Story of Jeshurun, Healed by Music]. San Marino Rtv (in Italian). Retrieved 2025-03-07.
  7. "Liechtenstein – 133. Station für Jeshurun Vincent" [Liechtenstein – 133rd Station for Jeshurun Vincent]. 1FLTV (in German). 2023-11-15. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
  8. Lee, Marcus (2017-01-17). "This Malaysian Musician Played Music in 39 Countries in 30 Months". Rojak Daily. Archived from the original on 2020-11-12.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Meet the partially deaf musician who set a Malaysian record after visiting 102 countries". SAYS. 8 July 2020.
  10. Webinars for Jeshurun Vincent | Have you ever wonder why a hearing disability musician can hold Malaysia record for visiting more than 102 countries by himself? Accepting Changes by Jeshurun | By TEDxAPUKL . Retrieved 2025-03-10 via www.facebook.com.
  11. 1 2 3 "Malaysian who's been to 123 countries now playing at World Cup". New Straits Times. 10 December 2022.
  12. Sekaran, Reena (2020-03-28). "Jeshurun travels the world, strumming his songs of hope". Free Malaysia Today (FMT). Retrieved 2025-03-07.
  13. Boulahlib, Samia (2022-09-17). "Le musicien-voyageur Jeshurun Vincent aux doigts d'or ! (Vidéo)" [Traveling musician Jeshurun Vincent has golden fingers! (Video)]. Ennahar Online (in Arabic). Retrieved 2025-03-07.
  14. Sanij, Badih (2020-01-22). "بعد زيارته 91 دولة.. شاب ماليزي يعزف للأمل في سوريا" [After visiting 91 countries, a young Malaysian plays for hope in Syria]. AL Khabar TV (in Arabic).
  15. CultureAlgérie (2022-09-14). "Le musicien-voyageur Jeshurun Vincent à Alger pour livrer son message d'espoir (Vidéo) - Culture Algérie" [Traveling musician Jeshurun Vincent in Algiers to deliver his message of hope (Video) - Algeria Culture]. Culture Algérie (in French). Retrieved 2025-03-07.
  16. Boulahlib, Samia (2022-09-16). "Musicien et interprète malaisien : Fascinant Jeshurun Vincent" [Malaysian musician and performer : Fascinating Jeshurun Vincent]. El Moudjahid Culture (in French).
  17. Malesko (2019-07-31). "Musician With Partial Hearing Travels World". UATV English - Freedom.
  18. "Jeshurun Vincent's Journey Across 155 Countries to Inspire Hope Through Music". Astro Ulagam. 2025-07-11. Retrieved 2025-07-11.
  19. 1 2 "Mr. Jeshurun Vincent, a well-known Malaysian travelling musician to promote Malaysia". Embassy of Malaysia, Budapest (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia). 2023.
  20. Adnan, Noor Adilah (9 August 2022). "MOTIVATIONAL TALKS - JESHURUN VINCENT". Embassy of Malaysia, Madrid (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia).
  21. binti Ramli, Intan Nadia (18 Oct 2024). "Malaysian visits Dublin on mission to inspire worldwide through music". Embassy of Malaysia, Dublin (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia).
  22. Mohamad, Lyna (2023-10-23). "Malaysian globetrotter shares experience". Borneo Bulletin Online. Retrieved 2025-03-10.
  23. Ben Ali, Mahdawi (2025-04-16). "L'artiste malaisien, Jeshurun, à Itsandra beach hotel I «Raviver la coopération entre la Malaisie et les Comores»" [Malaysian artist, Jeshurun, at Itsandra beach hotel I “Reviving cooperation between Malaysia and Comoros”]. Al-Watwan (in French). Retrieved 2025-04-22.
  24. Gamal, Kamal (2025-10-04). "Jeshurum Vincent de passage à Moroni | La Gazette Des Comores". lagazettedescomores.com (in French). Retrieved 2025-05-18.
  25. Mohd Zain, Ahmad Noor Azwan (14 April 2025). "Malaysia Music and Cultural Promotion Programme at Hoërskool Hercules, Pretoria, 14 April 2025". High Commission of Malaysia, Pretoria (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia).
  26. Kgoale, Kgomotso (2025-04-21). "Malaysian Artist Vincent Inspires South African Learners with Message of Hope and Harmony". Diplomatic Inside. Retrieved 2025-07-04.
  27. "Charity Football Match - Ending Food Poverty". www.instagram.com. 2024-04-22. Retrieved 2025-03-11.
  28. "Jeshurun Vincent of CFOURJ with Daryl Baptist and Rueben for Astro V'buzz interview". CFOURJ.
  29. Vincent, Jeshurun (2017-09-09). Into the Potter's Hands. Jeshurun Vincent. ISBN   978-967-15290-0-3.
  30. "Jeshurun Vincent, torch bearer for Larian Obor KL 2017, Malaysia". CFOURJ.