RI proposes international treaty for traditional heritage The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 10/03/2007 3:49 PM A|A|A| Irawaty

Wardany, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Indonesia and several other developing countries have proposed the establishment of an international treaty to protect cultural heritage and folklore, says an Indonesian official. "We had a conference organized by the Foreign Ministry and World Intellectual Property Organization in June, and we agreed to propose an international treaty on cultural heritage and folklore," said Andy Noorsaman Sommeng, director general for intellectual property rights at the Justice and Human Rights Ministry. He said pushing the proposal through would be difficult because many developed countries opposed the idea. Many Indonesians are becoming anxious about the protection of their cultural heritage, especially after the Malaysian government used the song Rasa Sayange in its "Truly Asia" tourism campaign. Rasa Sayange is believed to have originated in Maluku, where it is thought to have been sung for generations by people to express their love for their environment. Andy, however, said it was difficult for the Indonesian government to claim any right over the song. "From the side of intellectual property rights, if we can find out who wrote the song and that person wanted his or her rights to be protected, then we could sue Malaysia. If not, the song will remain in the public domain and can be used by anyone," he said. He said a property right was a personal right that would be protected during the lifetime and 50 years after the death of the creator of a piece of intellectual property. After that the creation enters the public domain. "But the government has the right to protect its cultural heritage created by anonymous authors, as stipulated in Indonesia's 2002 law on intellectual rights," he said. He acknowledged that this task was difficult because the government did not have a database on Indonesia's cultural heritage. Asked if the Malaysian government really had patented batik and angklung, as had been rumored, he said this was not true. "I have checked in Malaysia and there are no patents for batik or angklung," he said. He said if there were any patents, they would likely be for any new technology to make batik. "Patents are about technology," Andy said. He said to get a patent, a person had to prove their creation was a new invention or innovation and that it was applicable in industry.

Malaysia, Indonesia out of tune The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 10/26/2007 4:26 PM A|A|A| Ong Hock Chuan, Jakarta Neighboring and serumpun (from the same root) countries Malaysia and Indonesia have been out of step with each other lately over the traditional song Rasa Sayang. The song and dance over Rasa Sayang began when the Malaysian government used it as a jingle to promote the country's tourism. Indonesians were aghast that a homespun Ambonese song had been appropriated by its neighbor. Some legislators called for the Malaysian government to be sued in the international court for stealing an Indonesian song. Malaysia reacted by saying that the song was as much theirs as Indonesia's since the song came from the Malay Archipelago. And since Malaysia's culture is dominantly Malay, they had a right to use it. Though the Rasa Sayang issue seemed to center over the heritage of a common culture, what it really exposed was the vast cultural difference between Malaysia and Indonesia in what is meant by the word "Malay." The difference is rooted over the perception of the concept of "Malay" in. To Indonesians, Malay means an "ethnic group located primarily in the Malay peninsula, and parts of Sumatra and Borneo," if you go by the Wikipedia definition. In other words, being Malay is no different from being a Batak, a Javanese, an Ambonese or a Sundanese. They are all, however of one nationality Indonesian, no matter which ethnic group they belong to and everyone is considered equal in the constitution. This is not so in Malaysia. To many Malaysians, especially the Malaysian government, the word Malay means a race, as proposed by the German scientist Johann Friedrich Blumenbach. It is a theory that has been dismissed by anthropologists but, says the Wikipedia entry, "is still often used in this context, and it is the basis for Malay identity within the Malaysian nation." And there lies the trap that destroys Malaysia's claim to any ownership to Rasa Sayang or most of the so-called Malay traditions and culture. In reality, the Malays in Malaysia are mostly of Indonesian origin, according to Michael Chick, a Malaysian film maker who has studied the issue in depth. He has commented in a blog that 75 percent of Malays in Peninsular Malaysia are of Javanese descent. An additional 20 percent are from the rest of Indonesia. Yet, because of history and politics, the Malaysian government must maintain the notion that Malay is a race. The notion secures for the government the support and votes of the "Malays" in Malaysia, who constitute a majority of the population. If it were to acknowledge that Malay is not a race, then it would mean that Malaysia is a diverse nation that comprise ethnic Javanese, Chinese, Tamils, Minangkabau, Negrito, Dayak? It would have to go the Indonesian route of Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (unity in Diversity). If this happens the political elite would lose its hold on power. So this is the reason why Malaysia can only spin poor excuses for its use of Rasa Sayang. And it is for this reason that when it comes to a pissing contest dealing with the ownership of culture and heritage in both countries, Indonesia will always be upwind.

Indonesia, however, should not let this be an excuse to sit on its haunches. Culturally, Indonesia suffers from an embarrassment of richness when compared to its neighbor, but the ability of the government to exploit these potential gems is an embarrassment when compared to Malaysia. For all its faults the Malaysian government is much better at packaging and marketing than Indonesia. Indonesians here all admire how Malaysia markets itself with it Truly Asia slogan while living in a country of immense cultural, ethnic and geographic diversity. Its own marketing efforts are miserable and one would be hard pressed to remember the Indonesian tourism slogan. Indonesia needs to wake up to the fact that it is bad at marketing and if it continues to be bad, its competitors would take advantage. While Indonesia can be righteous, it would also be futile as we all live in a world where migration makes borders meaningless and competition razor sharp across borders. Indonesia must be competitive to survive. It is blessed by natural resources and the diversity of its peoples and cultures that none can match. It is better to make the most of what we have rather than make much ado over what others take from us.

RI, M`sia have understanding on settlement of cultural claim cases 11/24/2007 Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia and Malaysia have already reached an understanding on how to settle cases in which Indonesian cultural products are claimed by Malaysia, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said. Speaking to journalists here on Friday, Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Kristiarto Soeryo Legowo said there already was an understanding between Indonesia`s culture minister and his Malaysian counterpart on what to do when things undeniably belonging to Indonesia are claimed by parties in Malaysia. The Malaysian side had promised that when such cases happened it would take the necessary steps to settle them. "I think we can trust Malaysia to keep its promise so that the many kinds of trouble such cases will otherwise give rise to can be avoided," he said. About the recent case in which Malaysia presented a Reog Ponorogo show as being a Malaysian cultural product, Kristiarto said the Art Directorate of the Culture and Tourism Ministry was currently investigating it. "Certainly the investigation is not only made in Indonesia, but it is also aimed at making an assurance regarding the culture or the art which is also performed in Malaysia who later claimed it as part of its cultural legacy," he said. In the near future, it was expected the results of the research could be disseminated to the public. Early this week, there was a rumor in the internet that the Malaysian Cultural Art and Legacy Ministry had claimed Barongan which was like Ponorogo to be part of Malaysia.

Ponorogo people stage rally outside Malaysian Embassy November 29, 2007 at 04:56 pm The protesters accused Malaysia of having stolen Ponorogo`s traditional Reog dance. They carried banners showing texts reading "Malaysia, A Thief of Reog Ponorogo" and "Stop Copying". Fifty Reog Ponorogo dancers performed the Reog dance which was accompanied by traditional `gamelan` music, during the rally. They called their action "Performance of Cultural Concern". "This rally is to demonstrate our concern about the Malaysian attitude which has copied the Reog Ponorogo," Begung Poernomosidi, head of the Indonesian Reog Ponorogo Association said. Continue reading at NowPublic.com: Ponorogo people stage rally outside Malaysian Embassy | NowPublic News Coverage http://www.nowpublic.com/politics/ponorogopeople-stage-rally-outside-malaysian-embassy#ixzz1qPqYUNaI