The History and Connection Between the Perak State Anthem and Negaraku
Perak is well-known for its various tales of the glorious Sultanate rule from the Malacca lineage and has had a significant influence on this country.
This article aims to share the history of the Perak state anthem, whose melody is so similar that many are unaware of its connection to the melody of our national anthem, Negaraku. After Sultan Abdullah finished serving his exile in the Seychelles Islands for allegedly conspiring to assassinate the British Resident JWW Birch, he brought back a song that was influential in Mahe, Seychelles, to be adapted as the official state anthem of Perak.
The song was composed by French songwriter Pierre Jean de Beranger (1780-1857) and titled "La Rosalie." It was later given new lyrics, titled "Allah Lanjutkan Usia Sultan" (God Extend the Sultan's Life), and subsequently adopted as the official anthem of Perak Darul Ridzuan.
This Perak state anthem was selected as the national anthem of the Federation of Malaya by a panel of judges led by YTM Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj on August 5, 1957. The selection ceremony took place at the Police Depot Hall, Kuala Lumpur. A total of 4 songs were performed by the Royal Malaysia Police Band. The song "Allah Lanjutkan Usia Sultan" was chosen. The decision of the panel was then submitted to the Conference of Rulers. Once approved, the government offered RM1,000 to a composer to write its lyrics. This offer was won by Encik Saiful Bahri, and the national anthem, Negaraku, as composed by him, exists in 3 versions.
In 1956, all states in Malaya had their own state anthems. However, there was no national anthem that encompassed the entire country. Y.T.M. Tunku Abdul Rahman, who was the Chief Minister and Minister of Home Affairs at the time, decided that a national anthem should be created before independence. He proposed a competition to compose a national anthem. As a result, 514 songs were received from all over the world. However, none of the 514 songs submitted were considered suitable to be the national anthem. The committee then felt that another way to obtain a good national anthem was to invite several renowned composers to create one. Consequently, the committee decided to invite several famous international composers to specially compose this national anthem. Those specially invited to compose the national anthem included Benjamin Britten, Sir William Walton (who composed the march for Queen Elizabeth II's coronation), American opera composer Gian Carlo Menotti, and Zubir Said. However, their compositions were also rejected. Finally, the committee decided to listen to all existing state anthems to identify if any were suitable to be the national anthem of the country. After listening to all the state anthems, the Perak State Anthem was deemed very suitable to be the national anthem. This song was popular in Mahe, Seychelles, where the former Sultan of Perak, Sultan Abdullah, lived in exile. According to them, the song was very popular on the island and was often played by the French Band, which usually performed various songs and concerts for the public on the island. It is believed that this melody was composed by a French musician named Pierre Jean de Beranger, who was born in France in 1780 and passed away in 1857.
This song was later introduced by a Bangsawan troupe from Indonesia that was performing in Singapore. In a short period, the song became popular in Singapore and was named "Terang Bulan." Although this song became the Perak State Anthem, it was also played at events as entertainment. At that time, the song continued to be the Perak State Anthem until it was adopted as the National Anthem of Malaysia under the name Negaraku. After that, the melody was no longer used as entertainment music because it was prohibited. A proposal to rename the Negaraku anthem with a new tempo was unpopular. Some even compared the new tempo to circus music. In July 2003, Malaysian newspapers stated that the Negaraku anthem would be changed again and its lyrics would be changed from Negaraku to Malaysiaku. There was widespread protest and the name change was cancelled, but the Negaraku anthem was altered and returned to its pre-1992 tempo by composer Wah Idris. The Negaraku anthem had been changed to a faster tempo by Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad.
The new-tempo Negaraku anthem was performed for the first time at the Merdeka Eve celebration at Dataran Merdeka at midnight on August 30, 2003. The new-tempo Negaraku anthem was played after the fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad, shouted "Merdeka" seven times. The lyrics of the new-tempo Negaraku remain the same. Only the beginning of the song is slow, like the original Negaraku melody, and after that, the movement becomes faster.
