MALAYSIAN MUSIC AND SOCIAL COHESION: CONTEMPORARY RESPONSES TO POPULAR PATRIOTIC SONGS FROM THE 1950s – 1990s

Shazlin A Hamza,Adil Johan

doi:10.22452/jati.vol25no1.10

Abstract

Upon its independence in 1957, Malaysia was in the process of becoming a modern nation and therefore required modern totems to bind together its diverse population. Malaysia’s postcolonial plural society would be brought under the imagined ‘nation-of-intent’ of the government of the day (Shamsul A. B., 2001). Music in the form of the national anthem and patriotic songs were and remained essential components of these totems; mobilised by the state to foster a sense of national cohesion and collective identity. These songs are popular and accepted by Malaysian citizens from diverse backgrounds as a part of their national identity, and such affinities are supported by the songs’ repeated broadcast and consumption on national radio, television and social media platforms. For this study, several focus group discussions (FGD) were conducted in Kuching, Kota Kinabalu and the Klang Valley. This research intends to observe and analyse whether selected popular patriotic songs in Malaysia, composed and written between the 1960s to 2000 could promote and harness a sense of collective identity and belonging amongst Malaysians. There exists an evident lacuna in the study of the responses and attitudes of Malaysians, specifically as music listeners and consumers of popular patriotic songs. The study finds that unlike initially hypothesised, patriotic songs – instead of commercial popular songs – are more popular and wide-reaching in appeal across different professions, ethnicities, religions and geographic locations of Malaysians. Patriotic music provides a means for social cohesion, not via the propagation of dogmatic patriotic content, but through the personal, intimate and affective associations that such songs solicit from individual citizens.

Highlights

Introduction and BackgroundPatriotic music began flourishing as early as the 1930s and continued intensifying in frequency, especially at the dawn of Malaysia’s independence in 1957
The melody of Negaraku has a complex history of circulation that can be traced to the Pangkor Treaty in 1874, the consequent exile of Raja Abdullah to Seychelles Island, followed by the visit by Raja Idris to Buckingham Palace at the invitation of Queen Victoria in 1888. This melody or song would spread across the Malay Archipelago through its performance in various Bangsawan operas until at the instruction of Tunku Abdul Rahman, it was arranged as the national anthem for the Federation of Malaya in 1957
From all the polls conducted on recognisability of songs during the listening sessions, patriotic songs were the most recognised at 98% in comparison to popular songs at 88% (Figure 1)

Summary

Introduction

Introduction and BackgroundPatriotic music began flourishing as early as the 1930s and continued intensifying in frequency, especially at the dawn of Malaysia’s independence in 1957 The melody of Negaraku has a complex history of circulation that can be traced to the Pangkor Treaty in 1874, the consequent exile of Raja Abdullah to Seychelles Island, followed by the visit by Raja Idris to Buckingham Palace at the invitation of Queen Victoria in 1888. This melody or song would spread across the Malay Archipelago through its performance in various Bangsawan operas until at the instruction of Tunku Abdul Rahman, it was arranged as the national anthem for the Federation of Malaya in 1957 B., 1996a, 1996b, 2009)

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion