You can be arrested without a warrant & face up to 1-month jail if you don't stand up for 'Negaraku'
The Malaysian national anthem, ‘Negaraku’, has quite a unique history behind it, as its tune was originally used as the state anthem of Perak. The rabbit hole goes even deeper as the tune had its roots in the popular Indonesian song ‘Terang Bulan’, which itself was an adaption of the song ‘La Rosalie’ by 19th-century French songwriter Pierre-Jean de Béranger.
Furthermore, a worldwide competition was held to compose the national anthem, with all 514 entries received being rejected due to the competition committee deeming all of them not suitable. It was only after the first Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman suggested that the committee choose the Perak state anthem to be used as the basis of the national anthem that ‘Negaraku’ was created.
Besides that, the national anthem has a specific law governing it, which is the National Anthem Act 1968. In fact, the Act even has the song’s musical composition prescribed in its Schedule, something very unique compared to other legislation.
Beyond that, the Act also prescribes the proper way one should act when Negaraku is playing and the punishment that awaits those who disrespect the national anthem.
So, what does the National Act 1968 entail? Well, join us as we dive into the specifics of the Act below.
Negaraku has 3 official versions, with each version played on specific occasions
As mentioned earlier, the National Act 1968 prescribes the specific way in which the national anthem should be played, which is through this musical composition on the Act’s Schedule below:
As you can see, there are 3 sections to Negaraku, namely Sections A, B and C. These correspond to the 3 versions of the national anthem as prescribed by the Act, which are the full or royal version, the abridged version and the short version.
For the full version, all sections are played, while for the abridged version, it’s played from the beginning until B and continues from C to end. For the short version, only Section C is played.
Section 3 of the National Anthem Act 1968 prescribes when the full or royal version of Negaraku should be played below:
Furthermore, Section 6 of the Act prescribes that the full or royal version of Negaraku should be played on special occasions below:
Section 7 of the Act also prescribes that on all occasions when the national anthem is sung, the full or Royal version should be recited:
Meanwhile, Section 4 of the Act establishes when the abridged version should be played below:
As for the short version, Section 5 of the Act details when it should be played below:
You can be arrested without a warrant and face up to 1-month imprisonment if you don’t stand up during Negaraku
Additionally, the National Anthem Act 1968 details the proper way one should act when Negaraku is being played, which is to stand to attention as a mark of respect. This is as per Section 8(1) of the Act below:
However, you do not need to stand to attention when the national anthem is being played or sung in the course of a broadcast or newsreel as established by Section 8(2).
Furthermore, Section 8(4) asserted that it is a ‘show of disrespect’ if you fail to not stand to attention when the Negaraku is playing without good and sufficient cause, or any act or omission which would lower the prestige of Negaraku in the eyes of the public.
Accordingly, Section 8(3) prescribes a punishment of up to 1 month in jail or up to RM100 fine if an individual is convicted of showing disrespect to Negaraku.
In addition, Section 9 of the National Anthem Act 1968 below gives the power to any police officer to arrest a person without a warrant if they contravene Section 8 of the Act. This is unless the person gives their name and address and satisfies the officer that they will duly answer any summons or proceedings against them.
Moving forward, let’s hope that this elaboration on the National Anthem Act 1968 will clear up any confusion one has about Negaraku. Accordingly, let us all show the respect that the national anthem deserves whenever it’s playing and sing along proudly to the patriotic lyrics.
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