The Jakarta Post today carried an opinion piece on the Rasa Sayang brouhha by Unspun‘s alter ego. Some of the thoughts, insights and facts in the article were gathered from the comments of the many Indonesian and Malaysian readers who posted comments here, so a big vote of thanks for your input.
Malaysia, Indonesia out of tune
Ong Hock Chuan, Jakarta
Neighboring and serumpun (from the same root) countries Malaysia and Indonesia have been out of step with each other lately over the traditional song Rasa Sayang.
The song and dance over Rasa Sayang began when the Malaysian government used it as a jingle to promote the country’s tourism.
Indonesians were aghast that a homespun Ambonese song had been appropriated by its neighbor. Some legislators called for the Malaysian government to be sued in the international court for stealing an Indonesian song.
Malaysia reacted by saying that the song was as much theirs as Indonesia’s since the song came from the Malay Archipelago. And since Malaysia’s culture is dominantly Malay, they had a right to use it.
Though the Rasa Sayang issue seemed to center over the heritage of a common culture, what it really exposed was the vast cultural difference between Malaysia and Indonesia in what is meant by the word “Malay.”
The difference is rooted over the perception of the concept of “Malay” in.
To Indonesians, Malay means an “ethnic group located primarily in the Malay peninsula, and parts of Sumatra and Borneo,” if you go by the Wikipedia definition. In other words, being Malay is no different from being a Batak, a Javanese, an Ambonese or a Sundanese. They are all, however of one nationality Indonesian, no matter which ethnic group they belong to and everyone is considered equal in the constitution.
This is not so in Malaysia. To many Malaysians, especially the Malaysian government, the word Malay means a race, as proposed by the German scientist Johann Friedrich Blumenbach.
It is a theory that has been dismissed by anthropologists but, says the Wikipedia entry, “is still often used in this context, and it is the basis for Malay identity within the Malaysian nation.”
And there lies the trap that destroys Malaysia’s claim to any ownership to Rasa Sayang or most of the so-called Malay traditions and culture.
In reality, the Malays in Malaysia are mostly of Indonesian origin, according to Michael Chick, a Malaysian film maker who has studied the issue in depth. He has commented in a blog that 75 percent of Malays in Peninsular Malaysia are of Javanese descent. An additional 20 percent are from the rest of Indonesia.
Yet, because of history and politics, the Malaysian government must maintain the notion that Malay is a race. The notion secures for the government the support and votes of the “Malays” in Malaysia, who constitute a majority of the population.
If it were to acknowledge that Malay is not a race, then it would mean that Malaysia is a diverse nation that comprise ethnic Javanese, Chinese, Tamils, Minangkabau, Negrito, Dayak?It would have to go the Indonesian route of Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (unity in Diversity). If this happens the political elite would lose its hold on power.
So this is the reason why Malaysia can only spin poor excuses for its use of Rasa Sayang. And it is for this reason that when it comes to a pissing contest dealing with the ownership of culture and heritage in both countries, Indonesia will always be upwind.
Indonesia, however, should not let this be an excuse to sit on its haunches. Culturally, Indonesia suffers from an embarrassment of richness when compared to its neighbor, but the ability of the government to exploit these potential gems is an embarrassment when compared to Malaysia.
For all its faults the Malaysian government is much better at packaging and marketing than Indonesia.
Indonesians here all admire how Malaysia markets itself with it Truly Asia slogan while living in a country of immense cultural, ethnic and geographic diversity. Its own marketing efforts are miserable and one would be hard pressed to remember the Indonesian tourism slogan.
Indonesia needs to wake up to the fact that it is bad at marketing and if it continues to be bad, its competitors would take advantage. While Indonesia can be righteous, it would also be futile as we all live in a world where migration makes borders meaningless and competition razor sharp across borders.
Indonesia must be competitive to survive. It is blessed by natural resources and the diversity of its peoples and cultures that none can match. It is better to make the most of what we have rather than make much ado over what others take from us.
The writer is Technical Advisor at Maverick, a public relations consultancy specializing in crisis and issues management. He can be contacted at ong[at]maverick.co.id.
Unspun 
Malaysia, Truly Indonesia! 🙂
Unspun: And that’s truly witty. Bravo! 🙂
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It still amazes me to this day that people that appreciate Indonesia most, are foreigners. From documentaries, history records, even to humble travel blogs, I found plenty of them written by non-Indonesian. It seems to me that the government put very little effort to advertise its own richness. The impression I get, they are not even proud of the richness of their own country. Tanya kenapa? Tanya kenapa?
In the bright side, most of these remote places in Indonesia are untouched by the greed of global market. I guess that’s a good point (?)
Unspun: I think this is where political leadership and political will will make a difference. sadly it seems to be lacking
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Ya, Tanye kenape, kita orang MalasYa memang tidek bise (can’t) buat lagu sendiri. Make dari itu ada lagu bagus from negera tetengga kita pinjem buet promo negare kite MALASYA, hidup MALAS YA!!!!
Unspun: Maybe creativity comes with freedom?
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for your info, many dvd bajakan in Indonesia don’t have Indonesian text, but only in bahasa MalasYA!!! It’s mean malasya is the best bajakan dvd. All dvd bajakan made from malasya. Indonesian just look at the translation that very very bad
hmmmmm
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Fantastic piece, Unspun!
“If it were to acknowledge that Malay is not a race, then it would mean that Malaysia is a diverse nation that comprise ethnic Javanese, Chinese, Tamils, Minangkabau, Negrito, Dayak?It would have to go the Indonesian route of Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (unity in Diversity). If this happens the political elite would lose its hold on power.”
How true! For a Malaysian, this point is a home run.
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Wow, unspun, that really wraps up the whole Rasa-Sayang-e issue discussed in your blog here. Bravo!!
Unspun: @bayi, @ vic.kyle…thanks. It was how I felt.
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Dear HK Ong,
Just to inform that not 75% of the Malays in Peninsular Malaysia are Javanese, in fact it is the reverse maybe of only about 25% are originated from Java. Most of the Kedahan can be traced to the Achenese, the Perak Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Malacca and West Pahang are from Sumatra.
In Johor, the Bugis and Javanese are dorminant also in some coastal peat areas in Selangor, are resided by people of Javanese origin. The Malays in Malaysia are somewhat more united compared to Indonesian who still wishes to identified by their suku or clans whilst in Java island they will be the Sundas, Central Java, East Java and Maduras.
I would also like to trigger and ponder how would be the progress of Indonesia today if and only if Bung Hatta became the first president of Indonesia and not Bung Karno?
Also, after the colonization of the Dutch, isn’t it the Javanese who have now “colonized” the other parts of this archipelago other than the lucky Malaysia?
Unspun: You may be right. I’m no expert on this matter and was quoting MC who seems to be knowledgeable on such matters. I too would be game to conduct the thought experiment of where Indonesia would be now if Hatta instead of Sukarno became the first president. But the answer would be a tangent from this thread. Perhaps you’d like to guest post on this issue with your thoughts? If so, mail me at ong[at]maverick.co.id. Cheers.
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@ahmad 47: yes i agreed with u…if there is a move to establish these different clans that had lived in malaysia for quite a long time, i will support it and history shows it is not possible (ive got the info below from somebody trustworthy, however please correct me if im mistaken)
if u read the british history, it initially consists of several clans eg: Picts, Celts, Angels, Jutes and Saxons. they were all different clan/ ethnics but they were all united as english under Lord Marke when the Romans left England. This clans actually spoke the same language and they practiced the same religion. Yet, unification of these clans as english was actually political. It was believed to happened when these clans were divided due to power vacuum created when the Romans left Britain and these clans were threatened by the Irish King. Ireland at that time was protected by the sea from being invaded by the Romans, so it flourished.
based on this, i would say although the definition of ‘malay’ as a race in the malaysian constitution sometimes misleading but if the government comes clean on this, i dont see any reason why formation of a new ‘malay’ race is not accepted. like some says that ‘malay’ is not a race because it consists of Javanese, Bataknese, Ambonese, Bugis, Minang, Achehnese etc then its logical to say english is not a race in the first place, they are actually Picts, Celts, Angels, Jutes and Saxons
Unspun: Hmmm. I think the British/English analogy is logically faulty. English is an ethnic group. Wikipedia:
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Just a short one (^_^)
Dear Kamarul, neither British nor English is a race, it’s a nationality. Picts, Celts, Angels, Jutes and Saxons were all clans or ethnic at best. So same with Malays.
Dear unspun & ahmad 47,
not sure if MC had mentioned 75% Malays are Javanese but it could be possible considering many Javanese had taken root in Malaysia for the last few decades. The statistic that ahmad 47 highlighted are not incorrect but may have changed.
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got another question, do correct me if im wrong ya.
well then, if english is not a race, irish, scottish also are not races. based on what i know, all of these also made up of clans
then, is chinese a race? chinese would be the nationality of china, they were united politically by some dynasty long2 time ago and actually consists of a number of clans. they do speak language differently (i guess uguys knpw more than me). Chinese is a race or Hokkein, Hakka, Manchurs, cantonese etc are races?
i also think that this applies similarly to indians? 🙂
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I am not very informed about this, but i think Chinese is not a race. their race usually called mongolian/mongoloid. It goes by their specific physical appereance, not by language.
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a citizen of Republik Mimpi would like to ask anybody from Republik Tetangga (Indonesia), apakah ada orang Indonesia di Indonesia, selama ini apabila bertemu seseorang maka dia akan mengatakan ‘ saya orang jawa, saya orang madura, saya orang minang,saya orang menado’ hanya setelah bertemu diluar negeri baru terdengar ‘ anda orang Indonesia?
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OMG now “Burung Kakatua” claimed to be a “Lagu Rakyat Malaysia” by KKKWM.
http://www.heritage.gov.my/kekkwa/index.php?bahan=viewbudaya.php?id=62
quote:
untuk kasus burung kakak tua..
gw lucu juga denger syair yang make kata ‘jendela’, prasaan bahasa malaysia ga ada yang namanya jendela ya.. tapi tingkap..
quote:
“cha mali chan” sama dgn lagu “mana di mana anak kambing saya”
“suriram” sama dengan lagu “soleram anak yg manis”
“enji-enjit semut” sama dengan “lagu injit-injit semut”
( =_=”)
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From the link above click “8) Lagu-Lagu Rakyat Malaysia (Zainal Abidin)”
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@DeaGLe: um bahasa melayu takde jendela? hanya tingkap? Mana2 malaysian (not only malays) will laugh at this…
like we had a long argument in other threads…malays actually consist of Javanese, Minang, Ambonese, Bugis etc. so when these ppl come to malaysia, out of indonesia, they are not Javanese, Minang, Ambonese, Bugis etc??? uve got to be kidding me.
yeah those songs got similar lyrics, u just proved ur version come first, later when proved u can say we are stealing it from u…not now… 🙂
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the ‘jendela’ argument wasnt from me. i just quoted from a forum.
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Dear Kamarul & triedtobehonest, please see my post here about Chinese. Cheers!!
https://theunspunblog.com/2007/05/10/should-unspun-or-shouldnt-unspun/#comment-25710
Oh dear, I’m getting tired explaining the “Malays” of this region, u can find them here, here & here – find the links yourself :p it’s all around the rasa sayang related threads.
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@Kamarul – @DeaGLe: um bahasa melayu takde jendela? hanya tingkap? Mana2 malaysian (not only malays) will laugh at this…
http://www.heritage.gov.my/kekkwa/index.php?bahan=viewbudaya.php?id=62
From the link above click “8) Lagu-Lagu Rakyat Malaysia (Zainal Abidin)” and try to carefully observe the lyrics, and this is actually what uguys claim as “Lagu Rakyat Malaysia”
Hehehe… I totally agree with you, not only Malaysian will laugh at this…
Laugh for the foolishness of claiming this song as “Lagu Rakyat Malaysia” whilst just listening to the lyrics, the word “jendela” is simply NOT in ur dictionary… C’mon guys, be creative, at least (1) you gotta claim that “jendela” is an original Bahasa Malaysia first then only claim the song… or, alternatively (2) change the word “jendela” to… maybe “tingkap”.
Sing: Burung kaka tua, hinggap di tingkap (doesn’t sound good tho’???)
Ok, ok, ok… perhaps just take the first option… No worries… even one of ur ministers started to adopt the word “goblok” and don’t be surprised that a few years from now the word will be claimed as original “Bahasa Rakyat Malaysia”
@Vic.Kyle.Ellanne: Thanks for providing the link!
https://theunspunblog.com/2007/05/10/should-unspun-or-shouldnt-unspun/#comment-25710
I can see that even uguys are struggling on how you crave to call urself; Malays, Native SEA Muslims, Malaysian-Chinese, Malaysian-Indian, Mamak, Jawa datang mari, etc. etc. etc. C’mon guys it’s your own identity…
But, I notice that uguys take full advantage of this, an excellent excuse to claim anything to be urs: “bcoz malays consist of Javanese, Minang, Ambonese, etc. whatever these ppl bring here it’s also ours, ma…”
Hehehe… can’t wait to see uguys finally claim “pizza” is ur “Hidangan Rakyat Malaysia” and try to get a copyright for it (you’ve done that for “Angklung” and “Batik”), with the very same excuse:
“Malays actually consist of Javanese, Minang, Ambonese, Bugis, etc. Italian muslim we also got…”
“U just proved ur version of pizza come first and make sure u got the detail of the inventor; date of birth, hobby, fav color, etc., later when proved u can say we are stealing it from u…not now… ”
Poor Italian guys never notice or even imagine there will be such an extreme idea like this, thus they never counter-claim, and u finally obtain a copyright, and I can bet you will throw the very same excuse: “We believe in law…”
I don’t like the word stealing, please ppl don’t use it, too harsh… I would rather called it obnoxious manners
Shoot me… Malaysia Boleh!
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@Vic.Kyle.Ellanne:
Oh dear, I’m getting tired explaining the “Malays” of this region, u can find them here, here & here – find the links yourself :p it’s all around the rasa sayang related threads.
You’ve got my sympathy… I can feel your pain, particularly when we have to explain the uncertain (“Malays”)
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REPOSTED!!!
@Kamarul – @DeaGLe: um bahasa melayu takde jendela? hanya tingkap? Mana2 malaysian (not only malays) will laugh at this…
http://www.heritage.gov.my/kekkwa/index.php?bahan=viewbudaya.php?id=62
From the link above click “8) Lagu-Lagu Rakyat Malaysia (Zainal Abidin)” and try to carefully observe the lyrics, and this is actually what uguys claim as “Lagu Rakyat Malaysia”
Hehehe… I totally agree with you, not only Malaysian will laugh at this…
Laugh for the foolishness of claiming this song as “Lagu Rakyat Malaysia” whilst just listening to the lyrics, the word “jendela” is simply NOT in ur dictionary… C’mon guys, be creative, at least (1) you gotta claim that “jendela” is an original Bahasa Malaysia first then only claim the song… or, alternatively (2) change the word “jendela” to… maybe “tingkap”.
Sing: Burung kaka tua, hinggap di tingkap (doesn’t sound good tho’???)
Ok, ok, ok… perhaps just take the first option… No worries… even one of ur ministers started to adopt the word “goblok” and don’t be surprised that a few years from now the word will be claimed as original “Bahasa Rakyat Malaysia”
@Vic.Kyle.Ellanne: Thanks for providing the link!
https://theunspunblog.com/2007/05/10/should-unspun-or-shouldnt-unspun/#comment-25710
I can see that even uguys are struggling on how you crave to call urself; Malays, Native SEA Muslims, Malaysian-Chinese, Malaysian-Indian, Mamak, Jawa datang mari, etc. etc. etc. C’mon guys it’s your own identity…
But, I notice that uguys take full advantage of this, an excellent excuse to claim anything to be urs: “bcoz malays consist of Javanese, Minang, Ambonese, etc. whatever these ppl bring here it’s also ours, ma…”
Hehehe… can’t wait to see uguys finally claim “pizza” is ur “Hidangan Rakyat Malaysia” and try to get a copyright for it (you’ve done that for “Angklung” and “Batik”), with the very same excuse:
“Malays actually consist of Javanese, Minang, Ambonese, Bugis, etc. Italian muslim we also got…”
“U just proved ur version of pizza come first and make sure u got the detail of the inventor; date of birth, hobby, fav color, etc., later when proved u can say we are stealing it from u…not now… ”
Poor Italian guys never notice or even imagine there will be such an extreme idea like this, thus they never counter-claim, and u finally obtain a copyright, and I can bet you will throw the very same excuse: “We believe in law…”
I don’t like the word stealing, please ppl don’t use it, too harsh… I would rather called it obnoxious manners
Shoot me… Malaysia Boleh!
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Dear Vito, your’re most welcome.
That’s why Malaysia promoted itself as Truly Asia, so long that someone sings the song in Malaysia, they use it in advertisement. Ha ha.
FYI, pizza has it’s shares of issues in US especially when PizzaHut started it’s global franchise.
We never have problems introducing ourselves to the world we are Malaysian – maybe some do, but it is the unique characteristic of racial harmony (didn’t say balanced) here that we also almost always state which ethnic group we are. Like I said, we are already rooted here and could not say I’m China-Chinese right? In many country that doesn’t enjoy total racial harmony (in the people mindset), it’s easy to get discriminated treatment when you state your ethnicity, especially faced by Chinese worldwide, now Muslim too I think. So we are proud to be Malaysian, and not afraid to tell you I’m of Chinese descendent too.
To put the whole perspective in again, regarding about your above comment of “Lagu-Lagu Rakyat Malaysia”. Please see my October 31st, 2007 (if Unspun could save it) comment in https://theunspunblog.com/2007/10/02/rasa-not-so-sayang/
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BTW, those who want to read through the Malayness issue again, please follow that thread oso, just have to wait for UNSPUN!! TOLONG!
Unspun: Hmmmm. Have you a shady past, dubious friends or something for Akismet to single you out for quarantine so often?
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I donno, maybe my previous life?
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Chinese is a race or Hokkein, Hakka, Manchurs, cantonese etc are races?
MC: Hokkien, Hakka, Manchurs, Cantonese and (most) “Malays” are part of the Chinese ethnicity (aka Mongoloid descent).
i also think that this applies similarly to indians?
MC: Indians are divided into 2 major groups. The first is the Dravidian (darker for easy identification) and the other, the Aryans (Punjabi). Technically speaking, the Aryans are European. In World War II, Hitler declared that the Aryan “race” is the greatest race on earth. Hence, the “race issue” has always left a bad taste in one’s mouth (refering to first world countries) ever since. However, the Aryan “race” was defined by a linguistic definition. This is very similar to the linguistic definition used by the Malaysian to define the “rumpun” issue. Anthropologists argue that speaking a language does not make one come from that race. And the Aryan “race” as defined linguistically, is as flawed as the “Malay race”, simply because it is based on similar parameters; linguistic similarities.
You’ll never tell me that the Hokkien “uncle” frying Koay Tiew in Penang is a Malay just because he speaks the language. Similarly, I’ve repeated myself time and again that it is imposible to change one’s race. Regardless of how any constitution says that you can.
Dear Malaysian converts, you do NOT masuk “Melayu”, you masuk “Islam”. Don’t confuse the two. They are not the same. One is a religion, and the other is a sub ethnic group from Jambi.
triedtobehonest
I am not very informed about this, but i think Chinese is not a race. their race usually called mongolian/mongoloid. It goes by their specific physical appereance, not by language.
MC: And it is by this definition which anthropology defines races. By physical features, and not by actions, customs, language, or religion. Thank You. Your enlightenment has totally upset the Malaysian Constitution Article 160(2) completely. Which comes back to the original discussion on the Origins of the “Malays”. Insisting on its linguistic definition, the “Malay” language comprises of many many many different languages. Words like “bola” and “bomba” are in fact portuguese words. In fact, the Portuguese language constitutes to almost 15% of the “malay” language. So the same is with the Dutch Language. It’s approximately 20%. Sanskrit, Indian and Arab words fill up the bulk of what’s left. From my understanding, the three original “malay” words were SAYA, PADI and BABI. (That’s to my knowledge. Please provide reference if you think, or know otherwise) I can use my grant money to research those avenues.
The 3 broad classification comes from the Negroid, Caucasoid, and Mongoloid. However, the Dravidian Indian (not the Punjabis) do not fall in either of the three broad classifications mentioned above. There is still a classification dispute/ debate on how this is to be resolved (if any).
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oh, and to address the 75% Javanese migration, it’s in the (circa) 2005/2006 census. I tried to locate the site but could not find it again, if any of you can, please provide the link. I found it by chance researching for rape statistics in Malaysia.
And Unspun, congratulations, you have really outdone yourself on the above post. I love it 🙂
(BTW, my research was not internet based. It was always from published materials from reputable bodies. ie, universities, museum, and any other academic research material. Wikipedia, is NOT generally accepted as truth.)
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MC, you can try http://www.archive.org, if the original site goes down, archive.org usually have, well, you know the archive.
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The word jendela in burung kakak tua song is origin from portugis same as tuala, nona. Orang Malaysia tahu, misalnya lagu jigli nona.
Jigli nona jigli nona e qure casa
nona-nona zaman sekarang tak boleh ditegur tak boleh dilarang
Rasa sayang he, rasang sayang sayang hei hei lihat nona jauh rasa sayang sayang hei.
itu dia nona singapura.
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