S983156983137983150983142983151983154983140 J983151983157983154983150983137983148 983151983142 I983150983156983141983154983150983137983156983145983151983150983137983148 R983141983148983137983156983145983151983150983155

28 bull Fall 2011

Sourced from Nations Online Project

by Christopher Kremer

Malaysia and Nusantara Heritage inthe Adik-Abang Relationship

N983157983155983137983150983156983137983154983137

Vol XIII | No 2 bull 29

Indonesia and Malaysia which occupy the samearchipelago and have overlapping history andlanguage have fiercely disputed the ownership

o Nusantara (ldquoArchipelagordquo) culture Indonesia andMalaysia are both members o ASEAN but sincethey gained independence rom Britain and theNetherlands which originally created their artificialborders they have been locked in a contentious adik-abang (ldquoyounger brother-older brotherrdquo) relationshipTe first assumption that underlies the notion othe adik-abang relationship between Malaysia andIndonesia is that one is superior to the other and thesecond is that the two countries are closely relatedWhile the paradigm o the modern nation-state hasled Malaysia to view itsel as superior within the adik-abang relationship it acknowledges Nusantara as beingcommon to both countries because many Nusantarapractices can ultimately be traced back to islands inIndonesiarsquos territory Since Malaysia has become the so-called olderbrother o the adik-abang relationship it has adoptedthe stance that Malaysian and Indonesian cultures areseparate implicitly asserting that Malaysian cultureis superior Malaysiarsquos use o the notion o a distinctMalaysian culture as a way to assert its dominanceover Indonesia is shown by its shifing stance onimmigration rom when it was the ldquoyounger brotherrdquoto when it became the ldquoolder brotherrdquo In the yearsafer its independence Malaysia welcomed the flowo immigrants rom Indonesia and the Philippines asa way to keep its Malay majority a policy that ldquobecameobsolete when the birth rates o non-Malays and Malaysturned very much in avor o the latterrdquo1 Te act thatMalaysia shifed rom a policy o cultural inclusivenessto one o cultural separateness shows that as thecountry began to secure a sense o national identity itno longer needed to rely on an identity common acrossthe pre-colonial Malay Archipelago to give itsel a senseo unity and history

oday Malaysia is able to claim a differencebetween Indonesian and Malaysian cultures because ithas succeeded in distinguishing itsel rom Indonesiaand does so in order to urther the notion o theirdistinctness and to reinorce the notion common toboth that it is the stronger o the two countries Tisattempt to distinguish between cultures was evidentwhen the Malaysian Family and Community ministerannounced plans to perorm a study on the effects o

Indonesian immigrant maids on the ldquocultural valuesrdquoo the Malaysian children or whom they cared Suchplans not only demonstrated a perception amongMalaysian officials that the two countries have separatecultural values but also hinted that Malaysian cultural values are desirable and superior to Indonesian ones

While Malaysiarsquos claim to Nusantara heritage hasbeen partly shaped by the juxtaposition o superiorityand ineriority in the adik-abang relationship it has alsobeen shaped by Indonesiarsquos possession o the islandswhere many aspects o Nusantara originated In orderor Malaysia to reinorce its position as ldquoolder brotherrdquoit must not only accept that aspects o its cultureoriginated on islands currently under the jurisdictiono Indonesia but also demonstrate that its culture isnot derivative but is rather a distinct orm o the sameheritage One Malaysian official stated ldquoIt [Rasa Sayang]is a olk song rom the Nusantara and we are part othe Nusantarardquo2 Tis statement is compatible withthe Malaysian notion that Malaysian culture howeverit may be related to Indonesian culture is distinctRasa Sayang or example originated on Maluku anisland now part o Indonesia As well Gamelan andBatik which have local variants throughout Nusantaracountries both have their origins in Java While the majority o ethnic Malays o Malaysiaand the Indonesians are culturally and ethnically quitesimilar the governments o both countries have usedNusantara heritage as a way to compete with each otherBoth countries have asserted themselves in accordanceto their sense o superiority or ineriority as a nation-state and have had to shape their claims to correspondto the geography o the origins o Nusantara Te actthat Malaysia and Indonesia compete so fiercely overNusantara heritage attests to how closely related thetwo major countries o the Malay Archipelago are andto how divisive the idea o the modern nation-statecan be or two countries whose lands were united orcenturies

Rfc1 Holst Frederik ldquo(Dis-)Connected History The Indonesia-Malaysia

Relationshiprdquo Indonesia - the Presence of the Past a Festschrift in

Honour of Ingrid Wessel Ed Antje Missbach and Eva Streifeneder

Berlin Regiospectra 2007 327-40 Print

2 Loudres Marc ldquoRasa Sayang lsquoours Toowe Have Right to Sing

Itrsquordquo New Straits Times 3 Oct 2007 Web 9 Nov 2011

N983157983155983137983150983156983137983154983137

Vol XIII | No 2 bull 29

Indonesia and Malaysia which occupy the samearchipelago and have overlapping history andlanguage have fiercely disputed the ownership

o Nusantara (ldquoArchipelagordquo) culture Indonesia andMalaysia are both members o ASEAN but sincethey gained independence rom Britain and theNetherlands which originally created their artificialborders they have been locked in a contentious adik-abang (ldquoyounger brother-older brotherrdquo) relationshipTe first assumption that underlies the notion othe adik-abang relationship between Malaysia andIndonesia is that one is superior to the other and thesecond is that the two countries are closely relatedWhile the paradigm o the modern nation-state hasled Malaysia to view itsel as superior within the adik-abang relationship it acknowledges Nusantara as beingcommon to both countries because many Nusantarapractices can ultimately be traced back to islands inIndonesiarsquos territory Since Malaysia has become the so-called olderbrother o the adik-abang relationship it has adoptedthe stance that Malaysian and Indonesian cultures areseparate implicitly asserting that Malaysian cultureis superior Malaysiarsquos use o the notion o a distinctMalaysian culture as a way to assert its dominanceover Indonesia is shown by its shifing stance onimmigration rom when it was the ldquoyounger brotherrdquoto when it became the ldquoolder brotherrdquo In the yearsafer its independence Malaysia welcomed the flowo immigrants rom Indonesia and the Philippines asa way to keep its Malay majority a policy that ldquobecameobsolete when the birth rates o non-Malays and Malaysturned very much in avor o the latterrdquo1 Te act thatMalaysia shifed rom a policy o cultural inclusivenessto one o cultural separateness shows that as thecountry began to secure a sense o national identity itno longer needed to rely on an identity common acrossthe pre-colonial Malay Archipelago to give itsel a senseo unity and history

oday Malaysia is able to claim a differencebetween Indonesian and Malaysian cultures because ithas succeeded in distinguishing itsel rom Indonesiaand does so in order to urther the notion o theirdistinctness and to reinorce the notion common toboth that it is the stronger o the two countries Tisattempt to distinguish between cultures was evidentwhen the Malaysian Family and Community ministerannounced plans to perorm a study on the effects o

Indonesian immigrant maids on the ldquocultural valuesrdquoo the Malaysian children or whom they cared Suchplans not only demonstrated a perception amongMalaysian officials that the two countries have separatecultural values but also hinted that Malaysian cultural values are desirable and superior to Indonesian ones

While Malaysiarsquos claim to Nusantara heritage hasbeen partly shaped by the juxtaposition o superiorityand ineriority in the adik-abang relationship it has alsobeen shaped by Indonesiarsquos possession o the islandswhere many aspects o Nusantara originated In orderor Malaysia to reinorce its position as ldquoolder brotherrdquoit must not only accept that aspects o its cultureoriginated on islands currently under the jurisdictiono Indonesia but also demonstrate that its culture isnot derivative but is rather a distinct orm o the sameheritage One Malaysian official stated ldquoIt [Rasa Sayang]is a olk song rom the Nusantara and we are part othe Nusantarardquo2 Tis statement is compatible withthe Malaysian notion that Malaysian culture howeverit may be related to Indonesian culture is distinctRasa Sayang or example originated on Maluku anisland now part o Indonesia As well Gamelan andBatik which have local variants throughout Nusantaracountries both have their origins in Java While the majority o ethnic Malays o Malaysiaand the Indonesians are culturally and ethnically quitesimilar the governments o both countries have usedNusantara heritage as a way to compete with each otherBoth countries have asserted themselves in accordanceto their sense o superiority or ineriority as a nation-state and have had to shape their claims to correspondto the geography o the origins o Nusantara Te actthat Malaysia and Indonesia compete so fiercely overNusantara heritage attests to how closely related thetwo major countries o the Malay Archipelago are andto how divisive the idea o the modern nation-statecan be or two countries whose lands were united orcenturies

Rfc1 Holst Frederik ldquo(Dis-)Connected History The Indonesia-Malaysia

Relationshiprdquo Indonesia - the Presence of the Past a Festschrift in

Honour of Ingrid Wessel Ed Antje Missbach and Eva Streifeneder

Berlin Regiospectra 2007 327-40 Print

2 Loudres Marc ldquoRasa Sayang lsquoours Toowe Have Right to Sing

Itrsquordquo New Straits Times 3 Oct 2007 Web 9 Nov 2011