All About the Noise of Malaysia’s Claims on Reog Ponorogo

KOMPAS.com – One of the arts that is identical to Ponorogo Regency, East Java, is Reog Ponorogo.

The ballet was even included in the single nomination to be proposed as intangible cultural heritage or Intangible Cultural Heritage (I) UNESCO 2023.

East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa said the mention of a single nomination for reog is because this art only exists in one area, namely Ponorogo Regency.

“Because it’s only in Ponorogo. If a reog appears in Palu (Central Sulawesi) it is still called Reog Ponorogo, not Reog Palu,” he said, as reported Kompas.com (27/2/2022).

However, the effort to “patent” Reog Ponorogo as an intangible cultural heritage to UNESCO did not only come from Indonesia.

Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture (PMK) Muhadjir Effendy said the Malaysian government was also taking the same steps.

“For reog, the Malaysian state plans to also propose it, therefore we must first. Because this has become our culture and heritage,” Muhadjir said in a statement written statementMonday (4/4/2022).

For information, the Reog ballet in Malaysia, specifically in Johor and Selangor, is known as the Barongan Dance.

Quoted from the page Krisnadwipayana Universitybarongan was brought to Malaysia around 1722 by the people of Java, especially those who came from Ponorogo while traveling there before the existence of Indonesia.

The following is a complete list of Malaysia’s claims to Reog Ponorogo:

Also read: About Reog Ponorogo, Dedi Mulyadi: When it was claimed by Malaysia, we just made a fuss

The government is asked to block Malaysia’s intentions

Responding to Malaysia’s intention to claim barongan, which resembles the art of reog as its culture, Deputy Speaker of the Indonesian Parliament, Muhaimin Iskandar, asked the government to intervene and be more assertive.

“Malaysia cannot claim reog because this is indeed our culture. In fact, this case often happens, I think the government should be more assertive,” he said Kompas.com (7/4/2022).

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