Screenshots

I am glad my Indonesian friends still take me as their brother as we partook to dangdut concert and keroncong performance to unwind.

Puriwisata... Cameraphone picture taken with Nokia N95

Omah Dhuwur Restaurant... Low-light on Nikon D200

Furore over Malaysia's claims to several Indonesian songs as our own, and used them in Tourism Malaysia's international roadshows without giving credit to the auteurs, has reached a new pitch in Jakarta and Sumatra.

First it was Jali Jali, a Betawi folk song with which the late Sudirman sang his way to stardom at the Bintang RTM preliminaries. Subsequently, Rasa Sayang(e), a song from Maluku, equally aroused the angst of our friends in Indonesia for having 'hijacked' the song to promote Malaysia as being 'truly Asia'.

But taking away their songs without giving due credit, they feel that Malaysia is ridiculing their country and culture. It's an impregnated feelings that few can hide.

Another song hijacked

The latest controversy was over another folk song from west Sumatra, titled Indiang Sungai Garinggiang.

It has been alleged that Tourism Malaysia had used the song as accompaniment for a dance routine at the Festival Asia 2007 recently held in Osaka, Japan, to portray Malaysia's official art theme, Cinta Sayang.

Indonesian media disclosed that the western Sumatra song was originally composed by Tiar Ramon from Sumbar, in 1981. In fact, the song made its debut at no less a religious function than the opening of the national level of Musabaqah Tilawatil Quran in Padang, Sumatra, in 1983.

Media reports said Indonesia's Counsel-General in Osaka, Pitono Purnomo, had written to the director of Tourism Malaysia, Azhari Haron, to lodge a protest. Thus far, it was said that Malaysia had offered a no-reply reply.

Indonesian press described Tourism Malaysia's silence as a rebuke and started to link it to the recent incident where a diplomat's wife was ill-treated as a n illegal immigrant.

The online portal of the REPUBLIKA newspaper ran an opinion poll on the whole shebang of impropriety on the part of Malaysia, and culminated with a summary on November 5: Bila jiran meremehkan kita (when neighbour ridicules us).

A reader who participated in the poll said: "Only cultured neighbours would appreciate a neighbour's culture.."

Based on a sampling of 1,297 respondents (Nazri will certainly call this a minority for a country with 235 million people), the poll indicated the Indonesians' rationale for having an uncultured neighbour in Malaysia:
- 40.9% said Malaysia has ridiculed Indonesia
- 20.5% said Malaysia is arrogant
- 15.6% said Malaysia is having the 'Negara Kaya Baru' syndrome
- 12.2% said Malaysia does not respect its neighbours
- 10.9% said Malaysia acted appropriately

While some readers had written to REPUBLIKA urging Indonesian authority to take hardline approach against Malaysia, I am mindful that friends of mine who hosted me to dangdut concert and Javanese traditional cuisines do say a different thing:

Ganyang Malaysia, selamatkan Siti Nurhaliza.
(Crush Malaysia, but save Siti Nurhaliza)

In my whirlwind visit I heard close whispers, Not that the Indonesians adore our Siti Nurhaliza, it goes many layers beyond to say who the cultured neighbours among us are.