Culture & Society - Malaysiana
Official Symbols - Negaraku
Negaraku
Tanah tumpahnya darahku
Rakyat hidup bersatu dan maju
Rahmat bahagia Tuhan kurniakan
Raja kita selamat bertakhta
Rahmat bahagia Tuhan kurniakan
Raja kita selamat bertakhta
The Malaysian anthem Negaraku (My Country) was selected by a special committee headed by Malaysia's first prime minister, the late Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al Haj, who at the time, held the title of Chief Minister and Minister of Home Affairs.
Prior to the selection, a contest, open to music composers from across the world, was held to pick a composition that would be used as the national anthem for the soon-to-be sovereign nation, the Federation of Malaya. The entries received included those from internationally renowned composers. However, none of the compositions were deemed suitable.
As such, a ceremony was held at the Police Depot, Kuala Lumpur on Aug 5, 1957, to select a suitable composition. It was here that the Negaraku, an adaptation of the Perak State Anthem, was chosen by the committee; it was favoured for its traditional flavour and melody.
Perhaps, the other reason why it was chosen was the fact that the tune has a romantic historical background, which dates back to 1876. It was linked closely to the fate of Sultan Abdullah of Perak who was exiled to the Seychelles by the British colonialists following the assassination of the state’s first British Resident, J.W.W. Birch.
The Federation of Malaya, with the voluntary inclusion of Sabah and Sarawak, and the exclusion of Singapore and Brunei, became known as Malaysia on Sept 16, 1963. It was only natural then, for the Negaraku to be adopted as the national anthem of the newly restructured nation.
On April 4, 1968, the National Language Act was gazetted. This officially makes any act of disrespect towards the national anthem a punishable offence. Also, the honour of performing the anthem is restricted to designated individuals.
In 1992, during the National Day celebrations, the Negaraku was given a livelier tempo to make it more contemporary, as well as to signal the dynamic progress that the nation has seen as it moves towards Vision 2020.
