Kita masih over-reacting, harus periksa dulu...

Some issue that we have to handle rationally with Malaysia, and not jump the gun:

We now know that the video with the Balinese Pendet dance was not made in Malaysia. It was made by a Singaporean set-up for a private client, NOT Malaysia. The Malaysians have reprimanded the Singapore company and even graciously apologised even though it was not their fault. This has now been reported in Indonesian media. Link: ANTARA News: Pendet dance ad NOT produced by Malaysian govt

The song 'Rasa Sayange' has never been claimed by Malaysia as exclusively theirs. Instead cultural experst such as Raden Najib Ariffin have pointed out that it has long been shared by not just Indonesia and Malaysia but also by Brunei, Singapore and even southern Thailand Malay! It is a shared folk song, and we also have not been able to prove who in supposedly Maluku wrote it anyway. We should rejoice in this sharedness, and not be selfish.

The Malaysian national anthem Negaraku does not come from Indonesia's "Terang Boelan", because both of us borrowed it from a European tune! The song is believed to have been French apparently with some variations such as 'La Rosalie' or 'Oh Amelie'. It was played often in the French colony of Seychelles islands where a Malay Sultan Abdullah was exiled by the British, long before Merdeka. When he was released, he brought the tune back and made it a state song. We also got it from the Europeans, so it's not exclusively ours. This is well documented in France and foreign archives, but we didn't know it.

As for Ambalat, just as we think the area is ours; Malaysia may also have its own proof from British times. The culprit here is not Malaysia, it's the colonial Brits and Dutch who didn't demarcate the border properly - maybe on purpose as part of their 'Divide & Rule' legacy so that we will fight over it to their advantage. We must not fall into this post-colonial trap. It must be resolved through negotiations with internationally recognised proof.

We shouldn't create a fight with our Malaysian neighbour, especially when millions of our people rely on Malaysia for a living by working there [they can easily get workers from other countries if not us]. For a rational discussion of TKI in Malaysia, see my earlier posting below.

If we frighten them, we will also lose much tourism revenue as they are some of our best visitors. And we may lose the goodwill of their generous donations every time we have a disaster, when Malaysians were the first to send aid during the Aceh tsunami, the Jogja earthquake and other recent disasters. Beggars can't be choosers, dong!