Pendet dance to be performed at Malaysia's tourism event

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 09/02/2009 1:02 PM

Indonesian dancers will perform the controversial Balinese Pendet dance at one of the biggest tourism events in Malaysia later this week, an official said Wednesday.

"We will present an Indonesian cultural performance, that is, the Pendet dance at the Matta Fair 2009," Chrismiastutie, an official at the Indonesian Cultural and Tourism Ministry, told Antara news agency.

Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) Fair 2009 will run from Sept. 4 to Sept. 6.

The Pendet dance has drawn controversy following Malaysia's use of the dance in its tourism promotion ads. Indonesia has protested this use of the Pendet dance by Malaysia.

"We can use this forum [Matta Fair] to clarify [the ownership of] our Pendet dance," Chrismiastutie added.

In addition to Pendet, Indonesia will present other traditional dances, including Legong (also from Bali) and a Betawi dance.

Through tourism promotion in Malaysia, Chrismiastutie said that Indonesia should attract more tourists from Malaysia.

Last year, a total of 818,000 Malaysians visited Indonesia. As of July this year, 450,134 Malaysian tourists had visited Indonesia. This year, the number of Malaysian tourists visiting Indonesia is expected to reach 930,000.

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