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Letter: Should we hate Malaysia?
There has been a lot of hype and complaints from many Indonesians towards our fellow neighbor, Malaysia
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here has been a lot of hype and complaints from many Indonesians towards our fellow neighbor, Malaysia. It is an ongoing battle that seems to have no end. Currently, Indonesians are furious with Malaysia over the Pendet dance and its origins. Although there are new facts from the Discovery Channel that there was a third party involved with the misunderstanding, many Indonesia can't help but reject that notion. They strongly believe that it is the Malaysians' fault.
Lately, everywhere I go, I seem to hear people discussing this Malaysia-Indonesia dispute regarding the Pendet dance. More and more it seems that people are no longer fussing about Malaysia trying to steal the Pendet dance idea, but instead just clearly stating how much they hate Malaysia. Whether I'm in my dorm, at campus, or at a McDonald's, I hear the statement of "I hate Malaysia" constantly. People seem to hate talking about Malaysia, but can't help discussing them. That hate can be dated back to a long time ago. But the question in my mind still remains, should we hate Malaysia?
I'll admit the fact that Malaysia has too often pushed Indonesia's buttons regarding many issues, especially those of customs and traditions. There was the Batik dispute, the cases of TKI being abused, the Pendet dance dispute, and others. The impression of stealing those ideas is wrong, but the outcome is actually somewhat good for Indonesia.
Batik is what many people consider "khas Indonesia", ranging from Javanese Batik to Sundanese Batik. Indeed it is true, but before Malaysia tried to claim Batik as originating from their country, Indonesians didn't really respect nor pay much attention to Batik. Only after the dispute did we put up our shields and get our spears out ready to attack Malaysia.
Another issue is regarding the ever-growing number of abused TKI cases that mainly comes from TKI in Malaysia. What I know, and based on my friends' opinions, they admitted that the Indonesian government never paid much attention to TKI. TKI were invisible to the government and were vulnerable because they were never fully protected. They were just another export commodity to help the Indonesian economy. However, several cases of TKI being abused later, the Indonesian government started paying attention to the issue. Now the government is discussing possible solutions with Malaysia on how to better protect our TKI.
Indeed, I am not saying that we should allow Malaysia to keep stealing our ideas. Our government and our President also need to get in on the act because they have not taken the necessary measures to end this Malaysia-Indonesia dispute. A professor of mine said that Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono always waits for Malaysia to apologize and when they do, he will certainly forgive them and put it all in the past. If he doesn't change his actions towards Malaysia, how are Indonesians and Malaysians going to stop this hate? Somebody has to put their foot down.
What I'm saying is that the ongoing battle between Indonesia and Malaysia is caused by the misunderstanding of both countries. Not all Malaysians are as evil as many Indonesians believe they are and vice-versa. Both Malaysians and Indonesians shouldn't be narrow-minded when it comes to their judgments regarding each other. It worries me how much we Indonesians hate Malaysia and how insulting Malaysia can be towards Indonesians.
A relative of mine said that Indonesians and Malaysians are like brothers, so why can't we just get along?
Cantika Paramitha R
Bandung
