Dear Malaysia, 'stop claiming our culture' - irate Indonesians
Indonesians are criticising the Malaysian government for claiming two Indonesian cultural traditions as its own. North Sumatra’s Tortor dance and the Gordang Sambilan drums will be added to the Malaysian National Heritage Law, according to Minister of Information, Communications and Culture Rais Yatim. The two countries are known to have a history of political, economic, and cultural friction. Indonesians took to Twitter and YouTube to react to the news, and some politicians are asking Malaysia for an explanation.
nline, the hashtag #MalaysiaMiskinBudaya ("Malaysia is poor in culture") has been trending for several days.
Malaysian video blogger Joseph Germani believes the hashtag and controversy surrounding the Malaysian government's act is counterproductive and trivial.
Netizens have also used the hashtag #TorTorPunyaIndonesia, which means the "Tortor dance belongs to Indonesia".
Indonesian politician Ruhut Sitompul called for a more aggressive policy towards Malaysia to defend its cultural legacy. He was quoted in the Jakarta Globe saying, "Once in a while, I think it's necessary that we bomb [Malaysia] as a form of shock therapy. Otherwise they will keep oppressing us. There's no need for diplomacy - they always find excuses".
The two countries have a history of rifts of cultural heritage claims. In 2007, Malaysia posted a photo of a costume worn for a traditional lion dance from Ponorogo, East Java on its cultural heritage website. Indonesia has also accused Malaysia of claiming other aspects of its culture, such as the traditional pendet dance, rendang and sate padang dishes, batik clothing, and theatre performances.
-aljazeera.com
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