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Reflection

Rethinking Identity

In the forum, we discussed about the issues of identity, most of it is about the issues authorities and ownership. I also did put up the link and topic at others forum. The one i did have respond from the topic is from rantauan.com, a site where the Malaysian, Singaporean and Indonesian around the world meet online. Reflection I got from these discussion are list of question about the identity. Here is the list of questions that interest me. It is open to any discussion or suggestion.

Qoute from Tassa in rantauan.com

“How are you going to indentify a Malaysian culture, which is similar to the Indonesian, without stabbing on each other or should I say, not stealing each other culture to call your own? Singapore was part of Malaysia, so…. we share the same culture as you do, we are no different with the Johoreans, as far as I know. How are you going to introduce “Batik’ and ‘Rendang’ as a Malaysian icon to the world? “

Quote from Indonesian news:

Quote:
Saat Ibu Negara Ny Ani Yudhoyono memintanya untuk ikut menyumbangkan pemikiran dalam pengembangan batik sebagai ikon nasional, Iwan mengutarakan keprihatinannya pada kondisi pendidikan, riset, dan kemampuan promosi Indonesia sebagai negeri batik. “Sekarang Malaysia ke mana-mana mengaku batik sebagai milik mereka. Itu karena kita tidak punya kemampuan public relations,” kata penerima Anugerah Kebudayaan 2004 kategori individu peduli tradisi ini


Quote by Indonesian living in Malaysia as stated in Malaysian news:

Quote:
Apa yang sangat takuti adalah penerimaan dari negara-negara lain terhadap promosi ini. Jangan terkejut suatu hari nanti orang tahunya bahwa batik itu berasal dari Malaysia, rendang juga makanan tradisional khas Malaysia, wayang kulit adalah kesenian tradisional Malaysia, sehingga tiada lagi yang menjadi milik Indonesi

I learned that every countries are facing the same problems.Our next generations are struggling for new identity in the era of globalization. Do they care so much about their ‘identity’? What is identity? Webster’s dictionary states identity is “the distinguishing character or personality of an individual. Identity begins with our names, addresses, family groups, and cultural backgrounds, but how does it grow from there? Is identity how we see ourselves or how others see us? Is identity what we are or what we would like to be? Do we form our own identity or do others form it for us? Can identity be changed? Why is it important to express our identity?”