Is Sang Kancil Malaysian? One Indonesian Doesn’t Think So, Gets Schooled
The Sang Kancil story is popular among Malaysian children but a man believes it’s solely an Indonesian story.
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Most of us who went to school in Malaysia would be familiar with the local fable of Sang Kancil, a small mouse deer that bests every animal it meets with its intelligence, wit, and cunning.
The popular children’s story has been made into many adaptations. Most recently, it was made into an animated film. Dongeng Sang Kancil, which premiered on 26 December 2024 and is now showing on Netflix.
However, a Twitter user Ritchie (@ritchier2014) has an issue with the Sang Kancil animated film being labelled “Malaysian” on Netflix.
He claimed that the Sang Kancil story originated in Indonesia, adding that the story was written in 1822 and titled Serat Kancil Amongsastra.
Jangan Biarkan Budaya Kita Jadi Milik Orang Lain!
— Ritchie (@ritchier2014) April 2, 2025
Apa Masalahnya?
Film animasi "Dongeng Sang Kancil" produksi Malaysia tayang di Netflix dengan label "Malaysian". Padahal, cerita Kancil adalah warisan budaya Indonesia yang tercatat sejak 1822 dalam Serat Kancil Amongsastra. pic.twitter.com/kn1tRdlqCi
He further claimed that Indonesia is losing its culture, identity, and roots. Ritchie claimed the Malaysian animation industry is growing better than Indonesia, and he wasn’t too happy about that either.
He provided some solutions such as giving Indonesian animation studios incentives and funds, strengthening the country’s traditional copyright laws, collaborating with Indonesian talents that have made it to Hollywood, and including local stories in the school curriculum.
However, his most audacious request was asking Netflix to correct the movie genre label from Malaysia to Indonesia.
Take a day off, Ritchie
Netizens didn’t seem to buy into the same rhetoric and chastised Ritchie for claiming such things.
They explained that Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand share similar roots and cultures. Some shared cultures include batik, kebaya, local fables, and horror stories.
Some advised Ritchie to focus on more pressing issues than fanning the flames on something minor like this.
According to the British Library, the story of Sang Kancil (the Malay mousedeer) was an oral tale but there is a written epic in Malay, titled the Hikayat Pelanduk Jenaka (Tale of the Wily Mousedeer) dating from the 15th or 16th century.
There are three Malay manuscripts of the Hikayat Pelanduk Jenaka in the British Library digital archives, all originating from Penang or Kedah around 1805.
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Cara nak farm engagement : bergaduh dengan Malaysia.
— Hilmi (@HilmiHimself) April 2, 2025
Sang kancil ni cerita hikayat rakyat. Bermakna hikayat ni popular bukan saje kat MY, ID, malah kat PH dan TH.
Sama juga macam cerita hantu popular mak lampir, pontianak. Sebab apa? Sebab negara tak wujud masatu. Ngerti?
Indonesia pun takde like/rt pos ni. Their IQ is not that low
— Ilovecheese (@FuhHusain) April 2, 2025
Itu kan negara yg produksi filmnya… sama juga dalam film Aladdin produksi Hollywood tertulis America di bagian produksi, walau semua orang tahu cerita Aladdin berasal dari Timur Tengah
— Irwandi Jaswir (@Irwandi_jaswir) April 4, 2025
Org Malaysia pun tahu ada budaya yg dianggap SERUMPUN bukan hak milik mana2 negara. Budaya kita dikongsi satu sama lain dalam hidup serumpun
— Rauddin Alsaggoff (@RRauddin) April 2, 2025
Negara kita dipisah oleh penjajah tp berkongsi jalur yg agak sama. Bila la Indo nak terima kenyataan ni?
Dasar tolol org2 Indo IQ rendah
Kelewat chauvinis dan kurang wawasan.
— Rudi Handoko (@abroodee) April 3, 2025
Dikiranya cerita kancil itu hanya milik budayanya.
Di budaya Melayu termasuk di rantau kami di pesisir Kalimantan Barat, cerita kancil itu sudah cerita rakyat, malah ada kisah Hikayatnya, ada karya sastranya dalam tulisan Arab Melayu. 😁
Buat apa claim punya kita kalo animasi nya yang bikin orang malay? Orang kita bikin animasi ga dihargain giliran diambil orang marah marah, dongo nya orang orang disini
— kazikiari (@qawsertyuiio) April 3, 2025
Wei Konoha, baik ko urus negara ko yg makin teruk tu 🤣
— zaidsenju (@Senju33533948) April 2, 2025
Sudahlah ritchie, pemerintah kita juga gak peduli. Rakyat aja dicuri sama pemerintah sendiri, susah juga lah. Lo liat wapres kita??? Lebih peduli sama AI njir. Gue lebih peduli sama #CabutRUUTNI sih daripada ngurusin film di netflix :")
— Caca🍉 (@hwangdoodoo) April 4, 2025
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