The Roots of Negara Ku-It's Settled Then!

Malaysia’s alleged use of an Indonesian song for its national anthem appears — rather embarrassingly — to have been misplaced, according to a leading Indonesian musician and artist, Remy Sylado.

And so he set the record straight as to the roots of Negara Ku, the national anthem of Malaysia.

Sylado, said the so-called Indonesian song “ Terang Bulan ” (“Moonlight”) was actually an adaptation of “La Rosalie,” which was composed in the 19th century by Pierre-Jean de Beranger of Francey.Citing a Dutch historical text on national anthems, Sylado said the song became popular in the former French colony of the Seychelles and arrived in the Malay archipelago at the turn of the 20th century, where it was eventually used as the basis for Malaysia’s anthem, “ Negaraku ” (“My Country”).

“It is written clearly that ‘Negaraku,’ the Malaysian anthem, is adapted from Pierre-Jean de Beranger’s song. Not from ‘Terang Bulan,’ ” Sylado said.

He said the adaptation of “La Rosalie” to “Negaraku” had a long evolution. In 1888, during British rule of the Federated Malay States, the lyrics were rewritten and localized to “God Save the Sultan” by Raja Mansur, the eldest son of Sultan Abdullah Muhammad Shah II Habibullah of Perak.

The song was first performed formally during the sultan’s royal visit to England, where the song was presented as the Perak state anthem.

Sylado said this version of history had long been recognized by the Malaysian authorities and was used in the nation’s history books. He said that before declaring independence in 1957, Malaysia’s first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, decided to use a revised version of Perak’s state anthem as the national anthem.

“If the Indonesian government wants to sue Malaysia for copying ‘Terang Bulan,’ it would be a bad move,” Sylado said. “I’m concerned there will be a countersuit for using bahasa Indonesia , which is adapted from Malay and is indeed a part of Malaysia.”

And so you have it. Will the controversy be put to rest, for once and for all or will it be as liquid as the molten lava in a potential shimmering Krakatua?