What has Origins Gotta Do With It ?
(And Why in the World is Indonesia So Persistent in Claiming
that Rasa Sayang song Belongs to Them)
The reason why Malaysia has succeded as a tourist destination is because it is truly Asia. Our culture comprises all the Asian elements be it Indian, Chinese, Arab, Indo-Chinese or indigenous Malaysians. You will find pieces of Asia in this beautiful land and they meld into each other with ease.
Therefore, I feel that the Tourism Minister should not remove a piece of our Malaysia Truly Asia campaign by stopping 'barongan' and 'endang' dances in its promotion simply because Indonesians claim these "belong" to Indonesia. I also hope the Chinese lion dance and the vibrant Indian dances don't suffer a similar fate for "fear" that they have originated from other countries.
Of late, Indonesia has been quite vocal in its claim that we have been using its culture, especially its music and dance, for tourism promotion purposes.
Culture is one of those thing which is never original and never will be. Go Japan and you will hear Chinese elements in its music, songs and dances. Go to Indo-China and you will experience Indian or Chinese elements in their culture. Go Latin America or even the Philippines and you will see Spanish elements.
All over the world, people influence one another and there is no one culture that is truly original. Should we all give up our cultures then?
If we start striking out performances or music with foreign-perceived roots, then we will have to strike out lion dances, the 'zapin', 'bharata natyam' and so forth. How then we are going to justify our promotion tagline of Malaysia Truly Asia ?
Even if certain performances had their roots in Indoneaisn culture, I am sure these would have evolved to acquire a malaysian identity, especially in the customes as well as the way they are presented.
Moreover, haven't historians on both sides of the Straits tell us both Indonesia and malaysia grew out of the same mother - the Johor empire ?
Culture is something reflective of a country's people. As we are a multi-racial country, our culture will always reflect elements of Asia.
Posted on Youtube by malayneum :
http://youtube.com/watch?v=eu-nfKFDSB8
^ This has gotten Indonesia so jumpy, claiming that Malaysia has "copied" their song, & at the same time claiming that Rasa Sayang (or "Rasa Sayange", as the Indonesians called it) belongs to them .
Personally, I think that claiming a music, dance, or even literature belongs only to a nation or a particular race, is unjustified. So instead of bragging about the "owner" of the song, it is better for all of us, to sit back & relax, and enjoy the different cultures of the world .
Wednesday, December 26
What has Origins Gotta Do With It ?
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2 comments:
Betul jugak...if we continously arguing about the originality, it would'nt finished and will continue on an on...we are a multiracial contry, and even for the individual races, the origin also can be a long list...malay for example can be jawa, bugis, banjar, patani etc..
Hmm... I see no reason why Indonesia should claim that we're using their culture. The differences were not even so big in the first place. Even our language are comprehensible to one another. As for the songs, media issue... Well, you can't control what people like or what people don't. Malaysia simply helps Indonesia promote their media around the country, not make it her property.
And Rasa Sayang song... Well, in was once recognised as Singapore's country song, so Indonesia should not say anything about it. Even Singapore announced that Rasa Sayang belongs initially to Malaysia. Heck, one old hindustani film used Rasa Sayang too.
Sorry for the long comment, but your post is just too interesting to ignore =) And I wholeheartedly agree with your last paragraph!
Cheers~
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