WE Malaysians enjoy claiming our native customs, cuisine, and, as of recently, even our childhood songs.
However, none of them realise how closely related the countries of Southeast Asia are to one another.
Recently, a classroom in the Philippines was seen on camera singing Rasa Sayang, a well-known folk song in Bahasa Melayu, as posted on the Discover ASEAN Facebook page.
Supposedly, the song was studied by a group of Grade 8 pupils in the Philippines as part of their music course and Tagalog just like many other Southeast Asian countries that share cultural and heritage similarities.
Unexpectedly, the student’s performance of the Malaysian classic was more than outstanding considering how similar our pronunciation is to theirs.
Many internet users argued about the song’s origins in the comments area, arguing that “It is clearly an Indonesian song.” While another internet user said, “No, it belongs to the Malays.”
Fun fact: In a speech in Indonesia, our very own Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim acknowledged that the song’s origins lie in Indonesia’s Maluku Islands.
What do you think—should we continue to guard this cultural icon, “Rasa Sayang,“ or can we let all countries enjoy it equally?
