Malaysia, Indonesia both facing Malay malaise

Julia Suryakusuma, Melbourne When my brother and I were small we fought all the time. We both felt we couldn't get on, and so our youth was marked by constant squabbling. As we grew older (and wiser!) we realized just how much we had in common: We have the same parents, shared family background and history. Of course our personalities and characters are different, but as adults we can acknowledge these differences, respect them and see ourselves as complementing each other. Indonesia-Malaysian relations have been similarly characterized with this kind of childish competition. Our two nations have been bickering since our younger sibling Malaysia was born. President Sukarno's policy of Konfrontasi with Malaysia led to a political, and eventually military, fight over the future of Borneo/Kalimantan from 1962 to 1969. At its height, this conflict drew in the UK, New Zealand and Australia. But our sibling rivalry reached new heights of immaturity this year when both nations claimed ownership rights to the Rasa Sayange song, used extensively by the Malaysian tourism industry. Prominent Indonesians rushed to save the song, including lawmakers, parliamentarians, ministers, heads of political parties, heads of musicians' unions, the governor of Maluku, and the director-general of intellectual property rights at the Human Rights Ministry. Rasa Sayange was created by an Ambonese man from the Mollucas, in 1907, they insisted, and had been "stolen" by Malaysia. A phonograph record given by President Sukarno to participants in the Asian Games in 1962 was dug up. It contained Indonesian folk songs, including Rasa Sayange. Proof, the Indonesian authorities proclaimed. (Hmmm, this must be one of the very rare occasions that our nation, famous for sweeping the past under the carpet of modern political convenience, has given two hoots about historical accuracy!) An inflammatory Rasa Sayange petition was posted on the Internet, tempers flared and self-righteous calls were made to sue Malaysia for stealing our national heritage. What irony! Indonesia, of course, has long been one of the world's greatest infringers of intellectual property rights, pirating software, branded goods, CDs, DVDs and, yes, songs too. And just to prove the point, if you are after fakes, you need go no further than the lobby of the Directorate General of Intellectual Property Rights, where there is actually a kiosk selling knock-off watches, bags, belts, socks, wallets and CDs! The absurd storm in a teacup over Rasa Sayange is just an outlet for the resentment Indonesians feel towards Malaysia, because of a long list of irritations between the two countries. These have included the haze (caused by forest fires in Kalimantan and some in Malaysian Borneo too); illegal logging (of which both countries are guilty), territorial disputes over Bintan, Sipadan and Ligitan islands, and more recently, Ambalat in the Sulawesi Sea, the brutal assault of an Indonesian karate referee by a Malaysian, the detention of an Indonesian diplomat's wife, and claims of ongoing mistreatment of Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia. I suppose it's easier to fuss over a song than to resolve the longstanding problems of our migrant workers, who face horrendous problems in both sending and receiving countries. Neither Indonesia nor Malaysia have good track records when it comes to human rights, and Indonesia still has problems upholding workers' rights, despite recent reforms. But this doesn't justify what Indonesians consider to be Malaysia's rampant abuse and exploitation of our migrant workers. Even Anwar Ibrahim, former deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia and still a leading political figure, has exhorted Malaysia to treat our migrant workers humanely and not be arrogant in dealing with Indonesia -- and he should know what he's talking about, given his own bruising experience of Malaysian law enforcement! Like my brother and me, Malaysians and Indonesians share family similarities. We both come from the same Malay ethnic stock (roughly a cross between Indian and Chinese, with occasional bits of Arab thrown in), and are predominantly Muslims. But, also like my brother and me, there are huge differences as well. Indonesia is almost six times the size, and has a population almost 10 times bigger than Malaysia. The 300 ethnic groups of Indonesia make us far more culturally diverse than Malaysia, which has three main ethnic groups (Malays, Chinese and Indians) as well as indigenous minorities, such as the Orang Asli and tribal groups in Borneo. Much of Malay culture is derived from Indonesia, including language, food, music, angklung (bamboo musical instrument), kebaya-blouse, batik and wayang shadow puppets. They even love our crappy soapies! So what does it matter if they say that Rasa Sayange is theirs? We have much more where that song came from, so why worry? In fact, why worry at all if Malaysia acts up? Everything Malaysia has, Indonesia has more of, including problems and we need to get on with doing something about them, rather than fighting over a tacky song. In fact, managing a country the size and complexity of Indonesia is no simple matter. It's much easier to focus in a small nation. Mahathir, Malaysia's strongman of 22 years proved this, spearheading the phenomenal growth of the Malaysian economy to become one of the largest in Southeast Asia. In the end, though, wealth ain't everything. Malaysia is perhaps what we call in Indonesia OKB (orang kaya baru -- nouveau riche), needing conspicuous consumption, and large scale national projects like the Petronas towers to make up for the fact most of the cultural heritage and rich history of the Malay archipelago -- Borobudur, for example -- is located next door in Indonesia. Indonesia is not even close to eradicating poverty to the extent Malaysia has. In fact, most of our social indicators are still pretty awful. But in the long run, we may have more going for us. Our greater size means greater problems but it also means greater resources, markets and power. We need to capitalize on the blessings of our wealth and abundance by managing and distributing our resources better, rather than wasting our energy on juvenile spats with our younger and smaller neighbor. Why show off our inferiority complex? If we could develop a less fragile ego and if Malaysia can learn to resist prodding us in our sore spots, there is a chance that Indonesia and Malaysia could recover from their Malay malaise, and develop a healthy, mature sibling relationship that benefits us all. After all, my brother and I get on famously now and if we can do it, anyone can!