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Jakarta. In the midst of diplomatic tensions between Indonesia and one of its neighbors, Malaysia, it is still undeniable that both countries share things in common — from language and food to fondness for celebrities such as Malaysian diva Siti Nurhaliza and children's animation series Upin and Ipin.

Created by Les' Copaque Production and first broadcast in 2007 on Malaysia's TV9 channel, Upin and Ipin is an animation series about a pair of 5-year-old twins who experience their first ever fast in the month of Ramadhan.

Les' Copaque says on its Web site that the fasting experience is “told from their perspective in such a way that is simple, comical and hilarious.”

In Indonesia, Upin and Ipin is broadcast on Televisi Pendidikan Indonesia (TPI) and it is popular among children.  The merchandise has also proved popular in both countries with stuffed toys of the characters selling well.

However, children are not the only audience of the series because it draws adults viewers as well, such as Dandhy Dwi Laksono, the author of “Jurnalisme Investigative” (“Investigative Journalism”) and “Indonesia for Sale.”

“I like Upin and Ipin because it reminds me of my childhood in the village,” Dandhy told The Jakarta Globe, adding that his favorite character is Ipin.

“I miss this kind of show on national television because it carries the values near and dear to our culture like family and religious values and also, pluralism,” he said.

“Their friends represent the ethnics in Malaysia, Meimei the Chinese girl, Jarjit the Indian boy and Susanti, the new girl from Indonesia,” Dandhy said.

Similar feelings were also voiced by Pearl Lee, a Malaysian journalist. “It's a very simple cartoon and reflects life in the village in Malaysia and with the pluralism of nationalities everyone can relate to it,” Pearl said.

Both Dandy and Pearl expressed hope that fans of Upin and Ipin would not be swayed by the diplomatic tension between the two countries.

“It's similar to those capitalists who hate Cuba but smoke Cuban cigars,” Dandy said.

“There's nothing wrong with boycotting something as a form of expression but it usually happens when there's no place to express political aspiration,” he said, admitting that once a Facebook friend “unfriended” him because he put Ipin as his avatar.

“He told me he didn't want to be friends with anyone who likes Malaysian products. I think he doesn't understand that there are very strong interdependent economical ties between the neighbors,” he said.

“We share a lot of similarities, Indonesians love Upin and Ipin, we love your soap operas, Padang-style rice and traditional Indonesian soup. We share the same culture, language and also food,” Pearl said.

“We should embrace all this and foster better relationship and use it as our strength. There are more important things we should focus on like trade, domestic helpers and a fair minimum wage."

Mustar Bonaventura, the head of the People’s Democratic Defense (Bendera), a fringe group that has managed to put a serious dent in relations between Malaysia and Indonesia after hurling human feces at the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta, disagreed.

“Just because we have similarities in culture doesn't mean Malaysia can take us for granted,” said Mustar who said that he is not a fan of Upin and Ipin.