Friday, October 05, 2007

Rasa Sayng eh ?

rasa sayang eh..... rasa sayang sayang eh....... eh lihat nona jauh..... rasa sayang sayang eh..... buah cempedak di luar pagar.... ambil galah tolong jolokkan...... saya budak baru belajar..... kalau salah tolong tunjukkan......

Remember this familiar song ? All these while I thought it is a authentic local Malay song. But according to lawmakers of Indonesia, Malaysia's Rasa Sayang is a pirated version of Indonesia's “Rasa Sayange”. Rasa Sayange is originated from the Indonesia's island of Maluku, where the song has been sung for generations. The lawmakers are seeking the Indonesian government to sue Malaysia for royalty payment. The Indonesia's lawmakers also also said Batik and Wayang Kulit are Indonesia's cultural heritage. Read HERE for further details.

According to Malaysia Culture, Arts, and Heritage Minister, Wayang Kulit originated from Hinduism. Ahhh... now I see the reasons why the Islamic party, PAS, has been very vocal to ban Wayang Kulit in Malaysia. With regards to the song “Rasa Sayang”, I guess the song has been brought in by immigrants from Pulau Maluku, and along the way, the descendants of the immigrants who later became Malaysians adapted the song to become traditional Malay's cultural songs.

Malaysia is basically a land where our ancestors are from various parts of Asia. With the exception of the Orang Asli, majority of our grand fathers and grand grand fathers are immigrants who made Malaysia their home away from home. So, a lot of our foods and cultural heritage are adapted from other countries in Asia. For example, our Nasi Lemak are actually brought in by the Sri Lankan, Roti Canai are brought in by the Indian, Noodle is from China, Assam Pedas is from Thailand, Batik is originated from Indonesia, Balacan is from Portugal, etc. For Indonesia to sue Malaysia claiming that the songs and certain cultural heritage belong to them is like having the Japanese suing every country in the world claiming they own the proprietary rights to see the sun rises from the East.

There is a popular Chinese saying that “When you drink the water, please remember the source”, we should be proud of our cultural diversities and our abilities to integrate these diverse differences into a harmonized national identity. The important thing for Malaysia to do is, we must acknowledge, appreciate, and be grateful to, the source of our cultural heritage. People who are ignorance and disrespectful of the past are incapable to progress into the future. Stupid prides only demostrate our ungratefulness, and will bring us no where.

Saya budak baru belajar..... kalau salah tolong tunjukkan......

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