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"Negaraku" (English: "My Country") is the national anthem of Malaysia. "Negaraku" was selected as a national anthem at the time of the Federation of Malaya's independence from Britain in 1957. The tune was originally used as the state anthem of Perak^[1]. The tune was also used for a popular song of that time, Terang Bulan^[2], which was later borrowed by the song Mamula Moon, sang by Felix Mendelssohn and his Hawaiian Serenaders.

Contents 1 Lyrics 2 History 3 Recordings 4 Trivia 5 Parody 6 See also 7 References 7.1 Other 8 External links

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.

In English[1]:

My country, land where my blood was spilt,
The people live united and in progress,
Blessings of happiness, may God grant,
(And that) our King may reign in peace.
Blessings of happiness, may God grant,
(And that) our King may reign in peace.

At the time of independence, each of the eleven States of Malaya that made up the Federation had their own anthem, but there was no anthem for the Federation as a whole. Tunku Abdul Rahman, at the time the Chief Minister and Minister for Home Affairs, organized and presided over a committee for the purpose of choosing a suitable national anthem. On his suggestion, a worldwide competition was launched. 514 entries were received from all over the world. None were deemed suitable.

Next the committee decided to invite selected composers of international repute to submit compositions for consideration. The composers chosen were Benjamin Britten, Sir William Walton who had recently composed the march for Queen Elizabeth II's coronation, the American opera composer Gian Carlo Menotti and Zubir Said, who later composed the National Anthem of Singapore. They were all turned down too.

The Committee then turned to the Perak State Anthem. On August 5 1957 it was selected on account of the "traditional flavour" of its melody. New lyrics for the National Anthem were written jointly by the Panel of Judges— with the Tunku himself playing the leading role.

At the time this melody was, while still the State Anthem of Perak, Allah Lanjutkan Usia Sultan.

The song had been very popular on the island of Mahé in the Seychelles. where the Sultan of Perak had formerly been living in exile. He heard it at a public band concert on the island, a song to a popular French melody, originally composed by the lyricist Pierre Jean de Beranger (1780-1857), who was born and died in Paris. When a member of the Perak royal family was invited to a reception in Europe, he was asked what his state anthem was. Realizing that his state did not in fact possess an anthem, he, in order not to appear backward in front of his hosts, proceeded to hum the aforementioned tune. Thus was an anthem born.

The song was later introduced into an Indonesian Bangsawan (Opera), which was performing in Singapore. In no time at all, the melody became extremely popular and was given the name Terang Bulan. Aside from its dignity and prestige as the Perak State Anthem, the song became a Malayan "evergreen", playing at parties, in cabarets and sung by almost everybody in the 1920s and 1930s. (Today, of course, since independence, it is not played as a popular melody, and any such use is proscribed by statute.)

The anthem was given a new quick march beat in 1992, which proved unpopular. Some Malaysians have gone as far as to say that the altered tempo resembled circus music, and was the subject of much derision. In July, 2003 it was reported in the Malaysian press that the anthem would be rearranged for the second time and the title and lyric would be changed from Negaraku to Malaysiaku. There was a public outcry of dismay and the change of name was scrapped, but the anthem was re-arranged and returned to the pre-1992 pace by composer Wah Idris.

Instrumental Recording (US Navy Band)

In 2005, an antique disc collector found an old song (whose music is identical to the Negaraku) from his collection.[2] It later become a news headline for local newspaper. The song was a Hawaiian Song call 'Mamula Moon' believed the record dated back to the 1940s.

Main article: Wee Meng Chee

In 2007, a YouTube video featuring Negaraku caused controversy in Malaysia. The video, named Negarakuku, features Wee Meng Chee, a Malaysian student studying in Taiwan along with the national flag and weaves the Negaraku into a Chinese language rap.

• "Perajurit Tanah Air" aka "Inilah Barisan Kita" (Patriotic songs)

History of the Negaraku with further comments

• M. J. Bristow, F.R.G.S., "History of 28 national anthems".
• BBC, "New Anthem Marks Malaysia's Independence Day"
• The Star, "Is Negaraku from a Hawaiian melody?"
• Negaraku was a rip off from Mamula Moon?

• Description of Negaraku by AllMalaysia.info
• Negaraku with vocal
• Youtube - Negaraku performed by Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra

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