Memang Sah Negaraku Lagu Ciplak....

Article ni bukan keluar dalam Harakah atau Suara Keadilan ataupun Roket, tapi aku baca dalam New Sunday Times hari ni dalam ruangan I remember When.. mukasurat 28.... tajuknya  'Negaraku' became the national anthem.

Di mana cicit kepada Raja Ngah Mansur iaitu Mansor Abdul Aziz ceritakan asal-usul Lagu kebenagsaan negeri Perak dan bagaimana ianya menjadi Negaraku. Raja Ngah Mansur adalah anak kepada Sultan Abdullah II Sultan Perak yang dibuang ke Seycelles pada tahun 1877 yang terlibat dalam pembunuhan Residen British pertama iaitu JWW Birch.

‘Negaraku’ became the national anthem

2011/09/18
By Sonia Ramachandran
nsunt@nst.com.my

Sultan Abdullah II of Perak and his son, Raja Ngah Mansur.

The great-grandson of Raja Ngah Mansur, Mansor Abdul Aziz talks to SONIA RAMACHANDRAN about the origin of the Perak national anthem and how it then became the ‘Negaraku’IT all began when Sultan Abdullah II of Perak was exiled by the British to Seychelles in 1877 following the assassination of the state’s first British Resident, J.W.W. Birch.

He was accompanied by his family, bodyguards and valets, but not all his children.

His elder sons, Raja Ngah Mansur (my great-grandfather) and Raja Chulan, did not follow him.

In Seychelles, Sultan Abdullah resided on the island of Mahe, a favourite stopover for European sailors en route to Singapore and the Far East.

Bustling with activity, travelling French troubadours were a common thing and they would perform nightly by the beach, merely a stone’s throw away from Sultan Abdullah’s coastal residence.

The popular melody then was La Rosalie, originally composed by the poet Pierre- Jean de Béranger.

As their home was located near the beach, my classicallytrained great-grandaunts Raja Aminah and Raja Halijah eventually picked up the tune and learned to play it on the piano. The tune was so popular that it was hummed and whistled by sailors and the many residents of the island.

Raja Chulan, who often visited Seychelles, took a fancy to the tune and taught himself to play it on the violin, accompanied by the piano-playing pr incesses.

Upon returning home, the catchy tune became a favourite of Raja Ngah Mansur, a notable musician who was also the aide-decamp of the ruling Sultan Idris Mur shidul’adzam Shah.

In 1888, Sultan Idris — one year after his proclamation as the Sultan of Perak — set sail for England, upon the invitation of Queen Victoria.

Upon arrival in Southampton, a representative of the British government came on board to greet the royal entourage and inquired for the note sheets of the Perak state anthem, in anticipation of the ceremonial welcome for Sultan Idris.

Unfortunately, there were no note sheets, much less a state anthem.

Feeling it was undignified to mention that fact, Raja Ngah Mansur instead said he had not brought his note sheets with him, but that he could hum or play the tune if someone could take it down.

When the royal bandmaster arrived, hummed the music of his favourite tune from the Seychelles.

He later updated the sultan on the situation and later, en route to Buckingham Palace, reminded the sultan to stand at attention when the strains of the newly-minted anthem was played.

Thankfully, Sultan Idris loved the tune.

Mansor A
Aziz

Subsequently, Raja Ngah Mansur penned the lyrics to accompany the music and that was how it became the Perak national anthem.

About the same time that Sultan Idris visited England, the catchy song was introduced into Indonesian bang - s awa n (opera), which were performing in Singapore, by travelling sailors or the many close musical contacts of Raja Chulan or Raja Ngah Mansur.

The bangsawa n were then known as “Wayang Kassim” or “Indra Zanibar” and the melodic tune was titled Stam - bul Satu.

It was extremely popular and was later sung by other bangsawa n troupes under the Indo-Dutch moniker Teran g Boelan (Bright Moonlight).

The tune also found its way to Hawaii where it became known as Mamula Moon.

Back home, our first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, who was then Malaya’s first chief minister, commissioned a worldwide search for a potential national anthem for post-Independence Malaya.

With a prize money of $50,000 offered, the response was overwhelming with both local and international submissions.

Tunku Abdul Rahman and his committee, however, did not like any of the entries.

Instead, he wanted the Perak national anthem to be used on account of its traditional flavour, grace and melody.

Tunku Abdul Rahman himself later penned the lyrics for the anthem.

And that was how a swaying Seychelles song became the inspiring tune for our national anthem.

LYRICS

La Rosalie

La Rosalie assise par sa fena’tre,

J’entend la pluie qui verse sur son dos,

Son petit coeur qui repose a son aise

Et le mien qui n’a point de repos.


Allah Lanjutkan Usia Sultan (the Perak national anthem)

Dilanjutkan Allah usianya

Sultan Adil dan murah memerintah watan

Ditaati rakyat kiri dan kanan Iman yang soleh

Allah kurniakan

Allah berkati Perak Darul Ridzuan

Allah selamatkan negeri dan Sultan.


English translation

May God grant our Sultan with a long life

Who rules our peoples justly and kindly

Served by our loyal society

May He bless us with pure and noble souls

O Almighty God, bless Perak Darul Ridzuan

May God save the state and the Sultan.


Read more: ‘Negaraku’ became the national anthem http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/2011091800391220110918003912/Article#ixzz1YIIoDVMC