M'sia and Indonesia in dispute over Pendet

Yours, mine, or ours? Malaysia and Indonesia are again at loggerheads over the misappropriation of culture. — Reuters pic

JAKARTA — A brouhaha in Indonesia over Malaysia’s usage of the Balinese pendet dance in a tourism commercial has now shifted to another controversy involving the Malaysian national anthem.

Indonesians were up in arms after seeing the commercial on Malaysia that featured the pendet dance.

Kuala Lumpur had apologised for the use of the Balinese dance but said the mistake was made by a third party who was paid by Malaysia’s Tourism Ministry to produce the commercial.

The Malaysian embassy in Jakarta said in a statement earlier this week: “Nobody in Malaysia claimed that the pendet dance originated in Malaysia.”

But that is not the end of the story.

A report in yesterday’s Jakarta Globe newspaper quoted an executive from a state-owned recording company as asking why Malaysia’s national anthem “Negaraku” sounded like the Indonesian song “Terang Bulan” (Moon Shine).

Ruktiningsih, the head of recording company Lokananta, urged the Indonesian government to act on the “violation of intellectual property rights”.

“We have to unite against Malaysia, as they keep stealing Indonesia’s assets,” he added.

An Internet search found that both songs do indeed share the same roots. Malaysia acknowledges as much on a government website detailing its monarchy system.

The song “Terang Bulan” comes from a popular French melody in the Seychelles, which spread to the Malay archipelago in the early 20th century.

It was adopted as Perak’s state anthem in 1901. And in 1957, it became the national anthem for Malaysia with the lyrics changed.

This tangle is just one of many controversies between the neighbours. Indonesians see Malaysia as appropriating their cultural assets, while Malaysians say these have been part of their culture for as long as anyone can remember.

The controversies include batik designs and the popular “Rasa Sayang” ditty. The neighbours have also not settled overlapping claims in the oil and gas-rich Ambalat area in the Sulawesi Sea.

Speaking to The Sunday Times yesterday, Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said bilateral ties between both countries were still strong despite the hoo-ha.

An Eminent Persons Group comprising officials from both countries is looking into ways to smooth over these tensions.

“One idea is for the joint promotion of tourism and their shared cultural heritage,” he said. — The Straits Times