score one for Indonesia in the war on batik
JAKARTA - For Indonesia, it is a point scored in a long-running rivalry with neighboring Malaysia: The United Nations has decided to recognize the batik of Indonesia as one of the important traditions of the world's cultures.
After running what Indonesian nationalists see as poaching of Malaysian culture, the announcement last week that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural batik will add to the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage at a ceremony at the end of this month especially welcome. To celebrate, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has asked all Indonesian people to wear batik on October 2.
"It is very important that the world finally recognize and acknowledge batik as an Indonesian heritage," said Obin, one of the nation's leading fashion designers. "This is part of our soul."
But bragging rights batik, the process of creating intricate patterns on textiles with dye-resistant wax, just to kill one of the issues - cultural, social and political - that have been confusing the relationship between Malaysia and Indonesia recently. In June, things had reached the point where the Malaysian defense minister felt it necessary to state that, contrary to appearances, the two countries were not on the brink of war.
Indonesia and Malaysia have many similarities often lead to disputes. fluid limit their historical rise to populations that share both the Islamic religion and language are very similar. The two countries fought a real war over territory in the island of Borneo in 1960, and several smaller conflicts, but resource-rich, islands and coastal areas continues to this day.
The most recent cultural argument, however, is mostly one side. Malaysia, responding to a letter torrent in Indonesian newspapers, say they are mostly perplexed by Indonesian strong reaction 'to the suspicion that they are being encroached upon by Malaysia. Some young Indonesian boy, who refer to their neighbors as "Thieves for nothing" - "thief" means "thief" in Indonesia - have pledged their readiness to fight wars should become necessary.
The most recent flare-up began with a song.
In early 2007, the Malaysian government began using folk song titled "Pain Sayange," or "Feeling of Love," in ": the campaign of Malaysia Truly Asia" tourism abroad. Indonesia, claiming the song as their own, began staging protests outside the Malaysian embassy in Jakarta.
Indonesian MPs entered the fray, and in December 2007, Indonesia has been whipped into such a fury that Malaysia was forced to remove the song, and dance clips are also insist they belong to Indonesia, from the ad and apologized.
A more complex relationship last May when a Malaysian navy ship turned into a dispute, and the oil-rich waters of Ambalat, leaving the other fights Malaysia extended diplomatic and theft claims.
Then there are the headline-grabbing flight from Malaysia that same month from a young star of Indonesia, Manohara Odelia Pinot, who claims he was tortured by her husband, a Malaysian prince.
The next month, reported that Indonesian maids in Malaysia were being abused prompted the Indonesian government to temporarily stop sending domestic workers there.
Anger toward Malaysia's growing so strong here that the Malaysian defense minister, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, felt compelled to offer assurances that there would be no war between the two countries. At the same meeting, the Indonesian side of his, Cluster Munitions, warned people not to inflate small problems become big people.
The tension dropped to a low boil until a few weeks ago, when the Malaysian government again put on the defensive over a promotion for a documentary series on the Discovery Channel about Malaysia that featured a dance thought to have come on the island of Bali Indonesia.
The apology did not stop throughout the ever-present Indonesian crowd outside the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta from pelted with eggs and stones.
When it was in this context that UNESCO is considering Indonesia's claim that batik is part of a distinct cultural heritage and worth preserving.
Protecting batik, both of printed cheap imitations from China or a business in Malaysia for copyright designs, became a national obsession.
The Indonesian government stepped up its promotion of the fabric significantly in the year 2007, calling on civil servants and the public to wear it more often and sign up for the fashion designers find more interesting uses for it. Batik is now a staple in upscale malls and galleries in Jakarta.
Finance Minister Sri Mulyani has become famous for its elegant batik dress. Many offices in Indonesia now observe "Batik Friday" Applications. for copyright batik motifs have intensified; currently about 300 designs have been copyrighted in Indonesia. Most of those claims were made since 2007, according to industry figures.
"No question, really," said Ari Safitri, 22, pointed to the centuries-batik patterns Danar Hadi Museum in Solo, Central Java, a town famous for batik, where he guides.
"Everyone always asks about Malaysia," he said. "But I tell them that we believe batik comes from Indonesia."
Historians and analysts question the claims of non-Indonesian Indonesian.
"For Indonesia to claim that Indonesian batik is merely to stretch the point," writes Farish Noor, a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, in a recent editorial in The Straits Times.
"Post-colonial history of nearly all Southeast Asian countries tend to be more emphasis on nation-states and borders," said Noor. "This ignores the fact that people in the region have long engaged in the country with ease, bringing - and leave - their language, beliefs and culture."
Malaysia, for their part, seemed most confused by the campaign Indonesian batik. Jamal Ibrahim, Malaysia, wrote in a letter to The Jakarta Post, "We heard about the controversy, but hardly any Malaysian has given serious attention."
Gunawan Setiawan, who sells batik made in a centuries-old workshop in Solo, dismissed the controversy as nonsense, though he admitted he was glad that the quarrel had at least sparked a popular resurgence of the fabric at home.
"Since the 1970s, the biggest demand for batik has come in recent years because of this situation with Malaysia," he said in a workshop, where women use the wax to melt in spinning long cloth motifs. "I'm not sure anyone can claim batik, but it's good for business."
Correction: An earlier version of this article misspelled the name of a Singapore university. This is Nanyang Technological University, not Nanyank. Ambalat
JAKARTA - For Indonesia, it is a point scored in a long-running rivalry with neighboring Malaysia: The United Nations has decided to recognize the batik of Indonesia as one of the important traditions of the world's cultures.
After running what Indonesian nationalists see as poaching of Malaysian culture, the announcement last week that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural batik will add to the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage at a ceremony at the end of this month especially welcome. To celebrate, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has asked all Indonesian people to wear batik on October 2.
"It is very important that the world finally recognize and acknowledge batik as an Indonesian heritage," said Obin, one of the nation's leading fashion designers. "This is part of our soul."
But bragging rights batik, the process of creating intricate patterns on textiles with dye-resistant wax, just to kill one of the issues - cultural, social and political - that have been confusing the relationship between Malaysia and Indonesia recently. In June, things had reached the point where the Malaysian defense minister felt it necessary to state that, contrary to appearances, the two countries were not on the brink of war.
Indonesia and Malaysia have many similarities often lead to disputes. fluid limit their historical rise to populations that share both the Islamic religion and language are very similar. The two countries fought a real war over territory in the island of Borneo in 1960, and several smaller conflicts, but resource-rich, islands and coastal areas continues to this day.
The most recent cultural argument, however, is mostly one side. Malaysia, responding to a letter torrent in Indonesian newspapers, say they are mostly perplexed by Indonesian strong reaction 'to the suspicion that they are being encroached upon by Malaysia. Some young Indonesian boy, who refer to their neighbors as "Thieves for nothing" - "thief" means "thief" in Indonesia - have pledged their readiness to fight wars should become necessary.
The most recent flare-up began with a song.
In early 2007, the Malaysian government began using folk song titled "Pain Sayange," or "Feeling of Love," in ": the campaign of Malaysia Truly Asia" tourism abroad. Indonesia, claiming the song as their own, began staging protests outside the Malaysian embassy in Jakarta.
Indonesian MPs entered the fray, and in December 2007, Indonesia has been whipped into such a fury that Malaysia was forced to remove the song, and dance clips are also insist they belong to Indonesia, from the ad and apologized.
A more complex relationship last May when a Malaysian navy ship turned into a dispute, and the oil-rich waters of Ambalat, leaving the other fights Malaysia extended diplomatic and theft claims.
Then there are the headline-grabbing flight from Malaysia that same month from a young star of Indonesia, Manohara Odelia Pinot, who claims he was tortured by her husband, a Malaysian prince.
The next month, reported that Indonesian maids in Malaysia were being abused prompted the Indonesian government to temporarily stop sending domestic workers there.
Anger toward Malaysia's growing so strong here that the Malaysian defense minister, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, felt compelled to offer assurances that there would be no war between the two countries. At the same meeting, the Indonesian side of his, Cluster Munitions, warned people not to inflate small problems become big people.
The tension dropped to a low boil until a few weeks ago, when the Malaysian government again put on the defensive over a promotion for a documentary series on the Discovery Channel about Malaysia that featured a dance thought to have come on the island of Bali Indonesia.
The apology did not stop throughout the ever-present Indonesian crowd outside the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta from pelted with eggs and stones.
When it was in this context that UNESCO is considering Indonesia's claim that batik is part of a distinct cultural heritage and worth preserving.
Protecting batik, both of printed cheap imitations from China or a business in Malaysia for copyright designs, became a national obsession.
The Indonesian government stepped up its promotion of the fabric significantly in the year 2007, calling on civil servants and the public to wear it more often and sign up for the fashion designers find more interesting uses for it. Batik is now a staple in upscale malls and galleries in Jakarta.
Finance Minister Sri Mulyani has become famous for its elegant batik dress. Many offices in Indonesia now observe "Batik Friday" Applications. for copyright batik motifs have intensified; currently about 300 designs have been copyrighted in Indonesia. Most of those claims were made since 2007, according to industry figures.
"No question, really," said Ari Safitri, 22, pointed to the centuries-batik patterns Danar Hadi Museum in Solo, Central Java, a town famous for batik, where he guides.
"Everyone always asks about Malaysia," he said. "But I tell them that we believe batik comes from Indonesia."
Historians and analysts question the claims of non-Indonesian Indonesian.
"For Indonesia to claim that Indonesian batik is merely to stretch the point," writes Farish Noor, a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, in a recent editorial in The Straits Times.
"Post-colonial history of nearly all Southeast Asian countries tend to be more emphasis on nation-states and borders," said Noor. "This ignores the fact that people in the region have long engaged in the country with ease, bringing - and leave - their language, beliefs and culture."
Malaysia, for their part, seemed most confused by the campaign Indonesian batik. Jamal Ibrahim, Malaysia, wrote in a letter to The Jakarta Post, "We heard about the controversy, but hardly any Malaysian has given serious attention."
Gunawan Setiawan, who sells batik made in a centuries-old workshop in Solo, dismissed the controversy as nonsense, though he admitted he was glad that the quarrel had at least sparked a popular resurgence of the fabric at home.
"Since the 1970s, the biggest demand for batik has come in recent years because of this situation with Malaysia," he said in a workshop, where women use the wax to melt in spinning long cloth motifs. "I'm not sure anyone can claim batik, but it's good for business."
Correction: An earlier version of this article misspelled the name of a Singapore university. This is Nanyang Technological University, not Nanyank. Ambalat
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