“Without Indonesia There Would Be No Malaysia” — Indonesian Actor Speaks On Kahf Controversy

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In the aftermath of a controversial social media post uploaded by Indonesian cosmetics brand Kahf, many blows have been traded between Malaysians and the population of the neighbouring country.

This “SEAbling” rivalry is pretty normal between the two nations, but the resentment has been escalated amid the ongoing haze crisis brought upon Malaysia from Indonesia’s Kalimantan and Sumatra.

The Kahf issue drove Malaysians to actively boycott the brand, along with its sister brand Wardah, which is highly popular here for its halal cosmetic products.

Indonesian celebrity responds to boycott

An Indonesian actor who goes by Boy Hamzah took to social media to say something about the boycott, adding fuel to the fire (pun intended) with statements that claim Malaysia would be nothing if not for Indonesia.

He first compared Malaysia’s population of 34 million citizens to Indonesia’s 288.5 million, and that the boycott will not impact the brand much.

And then, he opened a historical narrative, saying: “You’ve already lost. Since the beginning, your ancestors were ruled by people originally from Indonesia. If Sultan Iskandar Syah did not go to the Malay peninsula, and if Malaysia did not get colonised by the British, you would be just a mediocre ethnicity that lives in clusters.”

“You are so quick to feel insecure and always envious of the cultural history as well as natural wealth of Indonesia. Yet in reality, you would not exist without Indonesia,” he added.

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Malaysian explains Purchasing Power Parity and why a boycott from Malaysia can impact the brand

In response to the controversial post, TikTok user @faizrazakdesign brought up Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) through a video.

PPP is an economic tool that compares different countries’ currencies through a common basket of goods and services to measure relative cost of living and inflation rates.

He explains why Kahf is enthusiastic in marketing their products here in Malaysia through differences in PPP, Gross Domestic Products (GDP), and average salaries between the two nations, despite the fact that Indonesia has about eight times the population size of Malaysia.

In short, while Malaysia does have a smaller population, the higher cost of Kahf products when it enters Malaysian borders makes up for the smaller quantity in quality of returns on investment (ROI) for the company.

Indonesia had nothing to do with the creation of Malaysia

Boy Hamzah’s statement of Malaysia not existing without Indonesia is an oversimplification of history, if not entirely untrue.

For centuries, the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo and surrounding islands were part of a connected Malay-Indonesian world. People moved, traded, intermarried and shared languages, religions and cultures across what are now national borders.

There were also powerful kingdoms and sultanates whose territories crossed or influenced areas that today belong to both countries.

For example:

• Srivijaya was centred around Sumatra but influenced the Malay Peninsula.
• Majapahit had considerable influence across parts of the archipelago.
• The Malacca Sultanate became a major centre of Malay culture, Islam and trade.
• Various Malay sultanates existed independently across the Peninsula and Borneo.

So Malaysia and Indonesia weren’t originally two clearly separated civilisations — modern borders came much later.

Where does Indonesia come into Malaysia’s creation?

The biggest factor was actually European colonialism, particularly Britain and the Netherlands.

The Dutch gradually consolidated much of the Indonesian archipelago into what became the Dutch East Indies.

Meanwhile, the British established control or influence over territories on the Malay Peninsula and northern Borneo, eventually creating a separate colonial sphere.

That division became increasingly important.

The really interesting part: Indonesia almost became part of Malaysia.

When Malaysia was formed in 1963, the proposed federation included:

• Malaya
• Sabah
• Sarawak
• Singapore

Indonesia did not join. In fact, Indonesian President Sukarno strongly opposed the formation of Malaysia.

This led to Konfrontasi (Confrontation) from 1963–1966, when Indonesia opposed the new federation through political, economic and military means.

Indonesia’s position was essentially that Malaysia was a British-backed project designed to maintain Western influence in Southeast Asia.

Britain, Malaysia and Indonesia eventually reached a settlement, and Konfrontasi ended in 1966.

So if you’re asking: “Would Malaysia exist in its current form if Indonesia had never existed?”

Probably not in exactly the form we know today, because the existence of a separate Dutch East Indies/Indonesia and the British colonial sphere helped shape the eventual borders and political identities.

But saying “Malaysia exists because of Indonesia” is too simplistic.

A better way of putting it would be: Malaysia and Indonesia are two modern nations that emerged from the same broader Malay-Indonesian world, with their present-day borders and identities heavily shaped by British and Dutch colonialism.

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“Without Indonesia There Would Be No Malaysia” — Indonesian Actor Speaks On Kahf Controversy
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