SHoggard wroteI can't think of a single Indonesian [I]tourist[/I] attraction Malaysia has copied - I'm not thinking of the occasional allegation of copying cultural things like batik, sate, Kuda Lumping (there are trance-dance groups among the Malay Singaporean heartlanders - which is a bit weird to watch surrounded by high-rise blocks) etc... after all prior to the Portuguese, Dutch and Brits the sultanates were cross-border & the current national boundaries are just part of the colonial legacy.
Casinos? Malaysia's had Genting for many decades
Historic colonial architecture? Melacca has been a 'draw' since the '60s - I visited Batavia & was surprised by the neglect
Million year-old pristine rain forests? Malaysia doesn't burn them but attracts tourists to walk in them
Reef diving? Sipidan is a National Park
Burobodour? Nope, Malaysia didn't copy that, don't think so but then again I haven't been to LegoLand yet.
Just a small quote from Wikipedia :
Through an intensive tourism campaign, Malaysia has featured many famous Indonesian cultural icons such as Batik, the song Rasa Sayange, Wayang, Gamelan and angklung instrument, and Reog (Barongan) dance as part of Malaysia's culture.[11] This aggressive tourism promotion and cultural campaigns had alarmed and upset Indonesians that always thought that these arts and cultures belongs to them. As the reaction, many Indonesians felt the need to safeguard their cultural legacies, and to the extreme developed the anti-Malaysia sentiments. In 2009 the Pendet controversy fuelled again the cultural disputes among neighbours. The advertisement promoting Discovery Channel's programme "Enigmatic Malaysia" featured Balinese Pendet dancer which it incorrectly showed to be a Malaysian dance.[12][13]
As I said, Malaysia's Tourism authority is smarter than their Indonesian counterpart, producing TV advertisements of a far2 higher draw-factor than the Indonesian ones (with a little bit of help from the "rustled" Indonesian cultural items).
:topsy_turvy:
