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Outrage Over 'Stolen' Pendet Dance Ends Up As a Misstep
Kinanti Pinta Karana & Putri Prameshwari | August 25, 2009

Ni Ketut Arini teaches girls Pendet in Denpasar, Bali. She was a student of Pendet creator I Wayan Rindi, who died in 1967. (Photo: J.P. Christo, JG) Ni Ketut Arini teaches girls Pendet in Denpasar, Bali. She was a student of Pendet creator I Wayan Rindi, who died in 1967. (Photo: J.P. Christo, JG)
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Valkyrie
5:36pm Aug 26, 2009

For those who may not know.

The tune was actually composed by a French lyricist, Pierre-Jean de Beranger (1780-1857). It became a popular French melody and prominent in the French Island of Mahe, Seychelles.

Later the State of Perak (Malaysia) had this tune for their national anthem. Because of its' popularity, it becamse the national anthem of Malaysia with some changes made to the lyrics. It is now known as "Negaraku."

A "petit Francais arome" don't you think so?


M.M.A.
8:32am Aug 26, 2009

What can you expect from a nation, that uses the rhytm of "Terang Bulan" as their national anthem?

Nathan.W
2:27am Aug 26, 2009

I would argue – in another perspective – this big fuss over Pendet dance ownership benefits Indonesia. When many Indonesians see this that cultural item belongs to them and not just to the Balinese; that shows and promotes Unity. Off course there are so many better ways to promote Unity, but understand that Indonesia is still a new nation, growing, learning, and making mistakes along the way (compare this to Europe and USA that have existed for at least over a century).

One component missing is the Leadership role. I would like to see Indonesian president or his spokesperson to elaborate on this issue, to guide the people in the right direction before this becomes a problem.


Valkyrie
5:24pm Aug 25, 2009

Hi Simon! It was actually pretty hard to miss what you were saying (ref: from your first para), but I thank you for taking the trouble to elucidate your comments.

Do you really think that the American TV channel paid the tab? I wonder?

Yes Simon, I know about the Straits Settlement, East India, Sir Stamford Raffles, Swettenham and Dutch compromises made etc., etc.,

Isn't politics dirty?

Simon
2:32pm Aug 25, 2009

It's pretty hard to miss what I'm saying, Valkyrie.

Firstly this was simply a fuss made out of nothing because nobody really knew what they were getting up set about. Malaysia had never claimed the dance, it was a mistake by an American TV channel.

Secondly, this rage against Malaysia that so pre-occupies Indonesia is just as silly. Historically the two nations are linked, pretty much almost one entity, and the divide between them was actually marked by European diplomats, not a Malay person from either what is now Indonesia nor Malaysia. Many of the people who led the independence movements in both nations saw a bigger Indonesia Raya as the desirable endgame of the post WW2 move to independence in SEA.

Is that clear?

It was a burning issue of national pride that stirred up the righteous anger of a nation slighted.

Well, not quite. A firestorm of Internet outrage over the supposed theft of the Balinese pendet dance for a Malaysian tourism ad turned out to be just hot air on Monday, when the Discovery TV network owned up and said that the dancers had appeared in one of its own TV promotions, and it was all a mistake anyway.

But not before Indonesia’s government, unaware of Discovery’s action, had already made an official protest to Malaysia.

The story started late last week, as rumors about the ad and reactions shot to the top of the social microblogging Web site Twitter’s hot topics list.

“Pendet is ours! Noordin M. Top is yours!” said one popular Twitter message, referring to the Malaysia-born terrorist suspect wanted in connection with the July 17 bombings in Jakarta.

Over the weekend, news stories had reported, erroneously, that the image of a traditional Balinese pendet dancer was used in an official Malaysia Tourism ad.

They were a touchpaper to reignite smouldering and long-standing antagonism between the two countries over the heritage of traditional songs and dances, and further stoked the furor on Twitter and Facebook.

The problem was, it was all wrong — and perhaps a lesson in the myth-making power of the Internet — as an apology statement by Discovery made clear: “Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific regrets that the image of a Balinese dancer, sourced from an independent third party, was used in the promotion of the series ‘Enigmatic Malaysia.’ The promotional clip has been removed from all feeds.

“The Balinese dancer was not featured in any way in the program. Discovery has the deepest respect for the traditions, cultures and practices of all races and nations, and it is not our intention to cause any misunderstanding or distress to any party.”

Widyarka Ryananta, a senior diplomat at the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, confirmed that the Malaysian government had never made an ad featuring pendet. “It was all a misunderstanding. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing,” he told the Jakarta Globe.

By the time Discovery’s apology had been issued, Minister of Culture and Tourism Jero Wacik had already sent a letter to his Malaysian counterpart, demanding the ad campaign be removed. “It happened two years ago with Reog Ponorogo. We don’t want it to happen again to us,” he said.

He said a bilateral pact signed in 2007 stated that if both countries wanted to publicize a culture in a “grey area,” they had to consult with each other first. But pendet was a different story: “People around the world would recognize in a glance that pendet is a Balinese dance. There’s nothing grey about it.”

After the error had been explained, Jero called on Indonesians to quickly register all forms of Indonesian cultural heritage to prevent such misunderstandings from reoccurring.

“We have so much cultural heritage,” he said. “We may accidentally neglect some of them.”