Negaraku
"Negaraku" or "Negara Ku" is the national anthem of Malaysia. "Negaraku" was selected as a national anthem at the time of the Federation of Malaya's independence from Britain in 1957. The title means My Country. The tune was borrowed from a popular song of that time, "Terang Bulan", which was serving as the state anthem of Perak.
Lyrics
Negaraku, tanah tumpahnya darahku,
Rakyat hidup, bersatu dan maju,
Rahmat bah'gia, Tuhan kurniakan,
Raja kita, selamat bertakhta,
Rahmat bah'gia, Tuhan kurniakan,
Raja kita, selamat bertakhta.
English translation
"My country, the land where my blood is spilt
The people live united and progressive
God bestow His blessings and happiness on us
May the king reign in peace
God bestow His blessings and happiness on us
May the king reign in peace"
History
At the time of independence, each of the eleven States of Malaya that made up the Federation had their own anthem, but there was no anthem for the Federation as a whole. Tunku Abdul Rahman, at the time the Chief Minister and Minister for Home Affairs, organized and presided over a committee for the purpose of choosing a suitable national anthem. On his suggestion, a worldwide competition was launched. 514 entries were received from all over the world. None were deemed suitable.
Next the committee decided to invite selected composers of international repute to submit compositions for consideration. The composers chosen were Benjamin Britten, Sir William Walton who had recently composed the march for Queen Elizabeth II's coronation, the American opera composer Gian Carlo Menotti and Zubir Said, who later composed the National Anthem of Singapore. They were all turned down too.
The Committee then turned to the Perak State Anthem. On August 5 1957 it was selected on account of the "traditional flavour" of its melody. New lyrics for the National Anthem were written jointly by the Panel of Judges— with the Tunku himself playing the leading role.
At the time this melody was, while still the State Anthem of Perak, also a well-known and popular Malay song under the title, Terang Bulan ("Bright Moon").
The song had been very popular on the island of Mahé in the Seychelles. where the Sultan of Perak had formerly been living in exile. He heard it at a public band concert on the island, a song to a popular French melody, originally composed by the lyricist Pierre Jean de Beranger (1780-1857), who was born and died in Paris. When a member of the Perak royal family was invited to a reception in Europe, he was asked what his state anthem was. Realizing that his state did not in fact possess an anthem, he, in order not to appear backward in front of his hosts, proceeded to hum the aforementioned tune. Thus was an anthem born.
The tune was later introduced into an Indonesian
