National Anthem Comparison
Indonesia vs Malaysia
1
Shared themes
✓
Same mood
33
33 years apart
✓
Same continent
Comparison Analysis
Indonesia and Malaysia, both Asia nations, take distinct approaches to their national anthems. Indonesia's "Indonesia Raya" was written in 1924, while Malaysia's "My Country" dates to 1957.
Both anthems share themes of unity. Indonesia additionally explores identity, freedom, nature and hope, while Malaysia also touches on love of homeland, prosperity, god / faith and monarchy.
Both anthems carry a majestic tone, creating a similar emotional register despite their geographic distance.
Indonesia's anthem predates Malaysia's by 33 years, having been written in 1924 compared to 1957.
Shared themes
Indonesia
🤝 Unity 🏛 Identity 🕊 Freedom 🌿 Nature 🌅 Hope
Malaysia
❤ Love of homeland 🤝 Unity 🌾 Prosperity ✝ God / Faith 👑 Monarchy
Shared themes:
🤝 Unity
Metadata
| Indonesia | Malaysia | |
|---|---|---|
| Written | 1924 | 1957 |
| Adopted | 1945 | 1957 |
| Lyricist | Wage Rudolf Supratman | Collective |
| Composer | Wage Rudolf Supratman | Melody of 'La Rosalie' (attributed to Pierre-Jean de Béranger) |
| Language | id | ms |
| Region | Southeast Asia | Southeast Asia |
Lyrics Side by Side
Indonesia
Indonesia Raya
Original
Indonesia tanah airku,
Tanah tumpah darahku,
Di sanalah aku berdiri,
Jadi pandu ibuku.
Indonesia kebangsaanku,
Bangsa dan tanah airku,
Marilah kita berseru,
Indonesia bersatu.
Hiduplah tanahku,
Hiduplah negeriku,
Bangsaku, Rakyatku, semuanya,
Bangunlah jiwanya,
Bangunlah badannya,
Untuk Indonesia Raya.
Indonesia Raya,
Merdeka, merdeka,
Tanahku, negeriku yang kucinta!
Indonesia Raya,
Merdeka, merdeka,
Hiduplah Indonesia Raya.
Translation
Indonesia, my homeland,
The land of my birth,
There it is that I stand,
To be a guide for my motherland.
Indonesia, my nationhood,
My people and my homeland,
Let us proclaim,
Indonesia united.
Long live my land, long live my country,
My nation, my people, all of them,
Awaken its soul, awaken its body,
For the Great Indonesia.
Great Indonesia,
Be free, be free,
My land, my country that I love!
Great Indonesia,
Be free, be free,
Long live the Great Indonesia.
Malaysia
Negaraku
Original
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.
Translation
My country, my native land,
The people live united and progressive,
May God bestow blessing and happiness,
May our King reign in peace.
May God bestow blessing and happiness,
May our King reign in peace.
Interesting facts
Indonesia
- 1. Wage Rudolf Supratman first performed Indonesia Raya on a violin at the 1928 Youth Congress, when he was twenty-five years old.
- 2. Supratman's printed lyrics and the first records sang "Mulia, mulia" ("glorious") in the refrain, but young nationalists sang "Merdeka, merdeka" ("free") instead, the words of today's anthem; questioned by Dutch police, Supratman showed his printed text to argue that "Merdeka" came from the public, not from him.
- 3. The full song has three stanzas. Government Regulation No. 44 of 1958 makes the first stanza, with its refrain sung twice, the usual sung form, and also sets out how all three stanzas are sung when the song is performed in full.
- 4. Supratman wrote both the words and the music; the familiar symphonic arrangement was created by the Dutch composer Jos Cleber in 1950 at the Indonesian government's request and tailored to President Sukarno's wishes.
- 5. After Supratman died in 1938 the rights passed to his heirs, his four sisters; once the song became the national anthem its copyright was treated as state property, with Supratman always named as its creator, and in 1959 his heirs formally handed the copyright to the government.
Malaysia
- 1. The melody is usually traced to 'La Rosalie', a 19th-century French love song often attributed to Pierre-Jean de Béranger; by the best-known account it was heard in the Seychelles, where Sultan Abdullah of Perak lived in exile, and became Perak's state anthem, though versions of the story differ
- 2. Malaysia's king is elected for a five-year term by and from the rulers of the nine Malay states, seven of whom are sultans; in practice the office rotates among them, making Malaysia one of the world's few elective monarchies
- 3. The anthem is sung in Malay, which serves as the national language uniting Malaysia's diverse Malay, Chinese, Indian, and indigenous communities
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Indonesia
Malaysia
