JAKARTA: Singer Aura Kasih said she could not help feeling sorry for Malaysia for claiming Indonesian culture as its own, as shown in its controversial tourism ad that features the popular Balinese welcoming dance, Pendet.
“Maybe Malaysia does not have something to be proud of so it has to claim other country’s works as its own,” she told okezone.com on Sunday.
“I feel sorry for Malaysia for having to claim other country’s works [as theirs].”
In a way, Aura found that Malaysia’s move was evidence that Indonesia was a much better nation.
“This proves that our country is much better than theirs. This should also make the government and the people love our culture even more.”
The Indonesian government has pledged to verify if the use of the popular Balinese Pendet dance in the tourism ads was the latter’s attempt to claim it as their own.
Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik said Malaysia’s tourism ads for “Visit Malaysia Year” with Pendet dance were aired on the Discovery Channel.
He said there were no reasons for Malaysia to exploit Pendet dance without permission from the Indonesian government, adding the entire world knows the dance belongs to Bali.
Malaysia has claimed cultural links to many Indonesian artistic legacies, from batik to reog ponorogo dance
