The Malaysian National Anthem, My Country Which Is A Gift From Soekarno

Soekarno (Source: geheugen.delpher.nl)

JAKARTA - Malaysia should thank the Indonesian people for their national anthem. The Malaysian national anthem, Negaraku, is a creation of the Indonesian nation.

There was once a debate between the lyrics of the song Terang Bulan, whose melody is exactly the same as the Malaysian national anthem, Negaraku.

The song was created by Saiful Bahri, a former leader of the Jakarta Studio Orchestra (owned by RRI). The family of Saiful Bahri (late) believes that the song is one of the thousands of songs composed by Saiful.

The origin of the Malaysian national anthem is similar to Terang Bulan

Yes, their national anthem song is my country, which is a legacy of the original song entitled Terang Bulan by composer Saiful Bahri.

The descendant of the creator of the song Terang Bulan, Aden Bahri, said that at that time President Soekarno asked his father, Saiful Bahri to submit the song Terang Bulan for Malaysia.

This, he continued, was corroborated by the testimony of a witness to the incident who was also a friend of his father's group at the Djakarta Studio Orchestra, Soebroto. "President Soekarno asked for the submission of the song in the early 1960s," said Aden Bahri in Solo, Central Java, as quoted by VOI from Antara.

"Pak Broto who was at the scene at the time admitted the same thing," he said.

Aden Bahri's interview in 2009 had previously asked the Indonesian side to file a complaint against a neighboring country regarding the Malaysian national anthem.

Regarding the demands of Saiful Bahri's family, he said the family asked the Indonesian government to help the family in protecting the song Terang Bulan, which is also one of Indonesia's cultural assets.

"The government must be more assertive and take a stronger stance in protecting all Indonesia's cultural assets, including the songs my father wrote," said Aden Bahri, who now lives in Jakarta.

Meanwhile, a former member of the Djakarta Studio Orchestra, Soebroto said that President Soekarno asked Saiful Bahri to submit the song Terang Bulan between 1961 and 1962, "As I recall, it was the anniversary of the Republic of Indonesia."

He said, the sentence uttered by Soekarno at that time, "Ful, just give that song to Malaysia. They don't have a national anthem,".

"At that time, the witnesses were not only me, but many. Dr. Johannes Leimena was the witness that I still remember," he said.

However, he no longer remembers who else was the witness to the incident at that time.

"What is clear is that Soekarno's message was very clear because I was only ten meters away from the conversation between Soekarno and Saiful Bahri," said Soebroto.

The statement explained by Soebroto means that the truth is not yet clear and is confronted with historical records that show that Malaysian independence took place on August 31, 1957.

Responding to the confession, the Head of Lokananta, Ruktiningsih, said that the Lokananta record company submitted a duplicated recording of the song Terang Bulan.

"We hope that the recording of the song can be used by Aden to manage his rights in accordance with his recognition as the heir to the songwriter," he said.

He said, until now Lokananta, which is the company that recorded and duplicated the song Terang Bulan, has no record of the songwriter.

"If the recognition of the heir is proven, we will record Saiful Bahri's name in the songwriters' data in this company," said Ruktiningsih.

So the Regional Song

When the Indonesia-Malaysia Conflict broke out in 1963, a similar sentiment emerged from the rhythm of the national song of my country and Terang Bulan. Sukarno no longer even supports the Malaysian national anthem. The change in Sukarno's attitude turned out to be based on his disappointment with Tun Abdul Rahman, who diplomized with the British to incorporate Sabah and Sarawak into Malaysia in 1961.

Sukarno's action received full support from the PKI. Through the People's Daily, the PKI referred to the Malaysian state as the Neocolonialism project. Sukarno became even more furious when the Malaysian government granted asylum to fleeing PRRI / Permesta supporters.

Because of that, the two countries have even accused each other. The White Paper Book of the Kingdom of Malaysia (1963), which was formed by the Malaysian Ministry of Information, said Soekarno accused Malaysia of supporting the rebels who denied Jakarta. Meanwhile, Tun Abdul Rahman suspected Sukarno of wanting to expand the impact of Communism to Southeast Asian countries.

During the Indonesia-Malaysia Resistance, Malaysians rejected the opinion that the song Terang Bulan originated from Indonesia. Meanwhile, Indonesia created the song as one of the Regional songs and "national assets."

Since 1956, RRI Jakarta has recorded Terang Bulan along with a collection of folk songs. The results of the recording were then re-documented by the Surakarta branch of the Surakarta branch of the State Printing Corporation in 1965. Not only that, Lokananta also transferred the recording medium to a phonograph record.

In 1965, by Lokananta, the song collection was transferred to LPs and became a state asset. From the archives owned by Lokananta, the song "Terang Bulan" was written as a popular folk entertainment song. This song has a keroncong rhythm and lasts 11 minutes and 15 seconds.

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