Malaysia and Indonesia row over ownership of a Malay folk song
October 4th, 2007
A catchy song in a Malaysian overseas tourism promotion campaign has hit the wrong note with neighbor Indonesia.
The Indonesians have accused the Malaysians of stealing the song — “Rasa Sayang”, or “Feeling of Love” — from them and are now considering suing.
Indonesian Tourism and Cultural Minister Jero Wacik said Wednesday he was investigating whether Indonesia could claim copyright and had scheduled a meeting with legislators, one of whom has called for legal action against Kuala Lumpur.
“Our two nations come from the same stock, so our songs are sung in Malaysia and the other way around, but for commercial use, ethically there should be a legal notice,” Wacik told reporters.
“In this case there was none because they (the Malaysians) said they have sung it for ages.”
The two countries share Islam as their main religion and have close cultural links with similar national languages. But they also have a history of testy relations that are regularly fanned by nationalist politicians in Indonesia, often for domestic political reasons.
Indonesian House of Representatives member Hakam Naja said Jakarta should consider action against Malaysia for using Rasa Sayang in a campaign to mark the country’s 50th anniversary currently running on radio, television and online.
“We want a proportional response,” said Hakam on Wednesday. “We ask the ministry to sue Malaysia, but only after checking the origin of the song. We should not let other countries misuse any of our national heritage.”
However, Malaysian Tourism Minister Adnan Mansor was quoted by The Star and New Straits Times Wednesday saying that the song had its origin in both countries.
“Indonesia cannot claim that the song is theirs,” Adnan said. “As far as I know, we have been singing the song for ages,” he said.
Adnan could not be immediately reached for comment. A Malaysia tourism ministry spokesman, who declined to be named citing protocol, confirmed Adnan’s comments but couldn’t give further details.
Hakam has also accused Malaysia of claiming ownership of traditional Indonesian heritage such as batik art using dye fabrics and the shadow puppet theater, the report added.
Malaysian Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Rais Yatim has rejected Hakam’s allegations and warned Indonesia that a law suit could hurt bilateral ties, the national Bernama news agency said.
“Indonesia or other parties will not be able to prove who was the composer of the song,” he said in the report. “If Indonesia wants to pursue the matter, it will face a dead end and will also affect Malaysia-Indonesia relations.”
Source: http://www.iht.com
Entry Filed under: World Tourism News
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