Recently, social media has been stirred up by a video clip of a song titled Hello Kuala Lumpur on a YouTube channel that allegedly originated from Malaysia. How not, the song Hello Kuala Lumpur is very similar to the song from Indonesia, Halo Halo Bandung. The song was uploaded by the Lagu Kanak TV YouTube channel with the title “Lagu Kanak Kanak Melayu Malaysia” on June 30, 2018. The similarity is allegedly very identical starting from the rhythmic tone to the melody. Even the lyrics have only changed the word of greeting and a few other words from the original lyrics of Halo Halo Bandung, which is the work of Ismail Marzuki. Suddenly, the video received the attention of Indonesian netizens because it was considered to have plagiarized the Halo Halo Bandung song. So, is it true that the song uploaded by the Malaysian YouTube channel plagiarized the Halo Halo Bandung song? And how does it relate to copyright provisions? Check out the full chronology below.
Chronology of Alleged Plagiarism of Halo Halo Bandung Song
Malaysia is back in the spotlight of Indonesian netizens after a Malay-language YouTube account, Lagu Kanak TV uploaded a video containing a song titled Hello Kuala Lumpur which allegedly plagiarized the song Halo Halo Bandung. The song Hello Kuala Lumpur is the opening song in the video. The song plays for 1 minute 37 seconds, then continues with other children’s songs. The Lagu Kanak TV account has uploaded the video since June 30, 2018, but it has only recently attracted the attention of Indonesian netizens. As of Tuesday, September 19, 2023, the video has been played more than 185 thousand times. However, the video’s comment section has been disabled, who knows when. The song Hello Kuala Lumpur is considered plagiarizing Halo Halo Bandung because the tone and rhythm of the song are exactly the same. In fact, the lyrics were only slightly changed and almost the same as Ismail Marzuki’s creation. For example, at the beginning of the song Hello Kuala Lumpur reads “Hello Kuala Lumpur, the Capital of Joy”. Meanwhile, the song Halo Halo Bandung reads “Halo Halo Bandung, the Capital of Periangan”. In the video description column, the song is also referred to as a traditional Malay song and a Malaysian patriotic song. Here are the lyrics of the song Hello Kuala Lumpur: Hello Kuala Lumpur Capital of Joy Hello Kuala Lumpur City of reminiscence It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you Now it’s getting more advanced I like it very much Suddenly, the video received attention from Indonesian netizens because of the rhythm and tone, it has a significant resemblance to the song Halo Halo Bandung. Many Indonesians have denounced the issue and it was reported on national TV. Meanwhile, a video of an emak-emak allegedly of Malaysian nationality also circulated in response to the issue. In a video shared by the TikTok account @hisyam.arif on Thursday, September 14, 2023, a woman who calls herself Kak Zu is shown saying that it is not a problem regarding who copied who between the song Hello Kuala Lumpur and Halo Halo Bandung. According to him, the important thing is that this song is made for entertainment alone. Furthermore, a TikTok account owner named Hisyam also responded to Kak Zu’s response. Hisyam said, the Halo Halo Bandung song that was allegedly plagiarized has Indonesian patriotic values. Hisyam continued, the Halo Halo Bandung song also has a connection with the history of the Bandung Lautan Api event so that plagiarizing the song could cause an uproar between Indonesians and Malaysians.
DJKI Ministry of Law and Human Rights response
Responding to the issue of alleged plagiarism in the Hello Kuala Lumpur song, Director General of Intellectual Property of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights Min Usihen said that respecting copyright and respecting the work of others should be the basic principles in maintaining the sustainability of the creative, cultural and economic ecosystem. According to her, people around the world should understand the importance of copyright protection and respect for the works of others. “Copyright is the exclusive right of the creator that arises automatically based on the declarative principle after a work is realized in a tangible form without reducing restrictions in accordance with the provisions of laws and regulations,” he said, quoted from Kompas.com, Thursday (14/9/2023). Therefore, someone cannot change someone else’s work without the consent of the creator or copyright holder. “In the work there are moral rights and economic rights belonging to the creator and copyright holder that we must know and respect,” said Min. According to her, if you really want to use part or all of someone else’s work, you should first ask permission from the creator or copyright holder as a form of respect for the moral rights of the creator of the work. “If we have difficulty contacting the creator or copyright holder to ask for permission, at least we must include credit for the work to whom it belongs,” said Min. He emphasized that a person or other party who takes music or changes the lyrics of a work without asking permission and does not include the name of the creator should be suspected of copyright infringement on moral rights.
But, Does Indonesian Copyright Still Apply Abroad?
Min said that copyright protection is universal in all countries that have ratified the Bern Convention. Indonesia is a member of the Bern Convention through Presidential Decree No. 18 of 1997 on the Ratification of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Work and was promulgated on May 7, 1997. “Referring to the provisions of Article 5 of the Bern Convention, then the copyrighted work of Halo Halo Bandung song created by Ismail Marzuki is automatically protected in all member countries of the Bern Convention which until now amounted to 181 countries including Malaysia as a member of the Bern Convention for exclusive rights owned by the creator / copyright holder of the song,” said Min. According to Min, if the creator or copyright holder has died, the heirs as copyright holders have the exclusive right to prohibit or allow other parties to exercise their copyright. As for Indonesia, copyright protection for song copyright works applies during the life of the creator plus 70 years after the creator dies. This is according to Article 58 paragraph 2 of Law No. 28 of 2014 concerning Copyright.
Learning from the Halo Halo Bandung Case: The Importance of Registering Copyright
Not only DJKI, the Minister of Law and Human Rights (Menkumham), Yasonna Laoly himself opened his voice about the alleged Halo Halo Bandung song that was allegedly plagiarized by Malaysia. From this case, he highlighted the importance of patent and copyright registration to provide legal certainty. “That’s why I always say patents must be registered. Copyright must be registered, as well as Halo Halo Bandung,” said Yasonna Laoly after giving a guest lecture at Brawijaya University Malang, Thursday (14/9/2023). Yes, the case of alleged plagiarism of the Halo Halo Bandung song by a Malaysian YouTuber has made the public, especially artist workers in the creative industry, more aware of the importance of copyright registration. This copyright registration aims to appreciate a work and encourage other creators to continue creating quality works. In addition, registration in this system is useful so that the owner / holder of the copyright is de facto and de jure recognized as the creator or person entitled to the copyright of the registered work.
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So that if there are parties who deliberately violate their copyright, they can be subject to a minimum imprisonment of one month and/or a minimum fine of Rp1 million, or a maximum imprisonment of seven years and/or a maximum fine of Rp5 billion. This is in accordance with Article 72 of the Copyright Law.
KH Contact
Well, for KH pals who also want to register their copyright, you can immediately contact Kontrak Hukum. We provide the most complete rights registration services ranging from musical compositions, audio-visual works, recording works, computer program works, animation / mascot works, photographic works, and so on only with fees starting from IDR 2 million! Guaranteed safe and easy because this copyright registration service will be carried out by competent IPR consultants who are registered with the DJKI Kemenkumham. For ordering information that suits your creation needs, please visit the KH Services – Copyright page. If you have questions about other legal and business needs, you can consult for free at Ask KH or via direct message (DM) to Instagram @kontrakhukum.
