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Along-standing dispute between Indonesia and Malaysia over the origins of batik seems to flare up every few years.

This year there have also been arguments over the ownership of the islands Sipidan and Ligitan, the song “Rasa Sayange,” the treatment of Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia and Bali’s pendet dance, which was featured in a Discovery Channel promotion for a TV show about Malaysia.

During each spat, diplomatic relations between the countries become tense, nationalism rises and nicknames are invented. This year, incensed Indonesians have started calling their neighbor “Maling-sia,” a play on the Indonesian word meaning thief, and an offensive parody of Indonesia’s national anthem was uploaded to a Malaysian Web site. A vigilante group has also formed in Jakarta, claiming that it would invade Malaysia on Thursday and wage war.

But Indonesia can at least claim victory in the batik wars when Unesco today adds Indonesia’s batik to a global list of Intangible Cultural Heritage items.

To celebrate that validation, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has asked all Indonesians to wear batik on Friday.

Asmoro Damais, an expert on batik who has consulted with various cultural institutions on the craft and collects historic batik fabric, specifically the Pekalongan style, since 1970, said Indonesians should be proud of the achievement.

The government and supporting institutions had to go through complicated processes to qualify for the cultural body’s recognition, she said. The first approach to Unesco was the idea of Iman Sucipto Umar of the Kadin Indonesia Foundation.

Museum head Indra Riawan also expressed his satisfaction at the recognition.

“As the head of Museum Tekstil [Textile] and as an Indonesian, I feel very proud of this news. It’s so special because the world has finally given recognition to one of our cultural heritage items,” he said.

“Thank God for this achievement,” said Indra Tjahjani, a batik expert and lecturer on the textile, who has been involved in research on the craft for nine years.

“But, it’s only a start.

“It’s important for the government to set up better strategies to improve the quality of our batik industry to compete in the international market, and also for the welfare of our batik makers,” she said.

However, Asmoro said that to say batik is from Indonesia is a little misleading.

“Batik is a technique of designing cloth through wax-dipping and dying which is available in many countries of the world,” she said.

Indra Tjahjani said that in India, for example, the same kind of technique has long been widely used.

“Although it’s not called ‘batik’ in other countries.

“I’m not sure where batik is really from, I’m still doing research on that. But I believe Indonesia’s batik is the best quality of all,” she said.

Addressing the dispute with Malaysia, Indra Tjahjani advised Indonesians to see the issue clearly and wisely. “We can say that batik is from Indonesia. If it really is from Indonesia then it’s very possible that perhaps some Indonesians took the technique of batik to Malaysia or other countries many years ago,” she said.

“What’s more important is to copyright batik patterns. The government can copyright batik as part of our culture, but there are thousands of batik patterns that can easily be copied by people from other countries.”

“I hope that Unesco’s recognition of our batik will change people’s perception on batik and other cultural elements,” Asmoro said. “I want that with this recognition, Indonesians and government institutions will appreciate batik better. Not only by wearing batik, but also collecting and studying batik comprehensively.”

Indra Riawan said he hoped the Unesco move would also help attract visitors to see the Textile Museum’s collections. He said that although the museum was not well-known and could be difficult to locate, its main problem lay in the fact that people’s interest in batik and other cultural properties is low.

“That’s why we plan to have creative events to attract young people.”

He and his staff have events planned that include batik workshops and fashion shows.

“We have this very special program on Oct. 24. We are going to break MURI’s [Museum of Records Indonesia] attendance record by having 1,500 students make batik patterns at the same time,” Indra Riawan said.

As a part-time lecturer at universities, Indra Tjahjani has also been encouraging her students to take note of their culture and assigns them projects that are related to Indonesia’s culture.

“I find my strategy works. My students become aware of their cultural heritage and gain an interest in learning more about it,” she said.

A year ago, inspired by her students and her passion for batik, she started a campaign called Mbatik Yuuuk (Let’s make batik). Through this she is teaching youths how to create batik patterns, to understand the philosophy behind the designs and other aspects of the craft.

“Many people claim they know batik, but they actually don’t know the philosophy of each pattern,” she said.

“Did you know that in the old times, all batik makers had to fast from eating and drinking before creating a batik pattern.

“Making batik was that sacred,” she said.