Wayang is from where? Adidas Singapore riles Indonesians by calling wayang kulit ‘Malaysian’

Singapore — Indonesia and Malaysia share a long intertwined history, but Indonesians did not take it kindly when adidas Singapore described wayang kulit as a “significant part of Malaysia’s cultural identity and heritage”.

In a promotional campaign on Instagram last week, adidas showed a wayang kulit figure on a pair of athletic shoes designed by Jaemy Choong, who is from Malaysia.

The original caption read that “Malaysia’s cultural heritage” should be celebrated through Mr Choong’s eyes, adding that the design pays “homage to wayang kulit, a significant part of Malaysia’s cultural identity and heritage”.

Ooops.

This sparked reactions from many online commenters.

Adidas Singapore’s IG account has been inundated with protests from Indonesian netizens after promoting wayang as a Malaysian heritage for their latest Southeast Asian city pack ultra boost models.

Here we go again 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/h6XLRxML1R

— Nuice Media (Taylor’s version) (@nuicemedia) November 15, 2021

Some even came with receipts from history. 

After numerous Indonesian netizens quickly pointed out that “Wayang is INDONESIAN CULTURE,” @adidassg changed the caption to:

“Originating from Indonesia, Wayang Kulit has inspired other parts of Southeast Asia. The #UltraBOOST DNA City Pack design pays homage to the artform by fusing elements of Wayang Kulit with a modern color palette, in an “old-meets-new” approach on the UltraBOOST DNA.”

Since then, adidas has apologised on Instagram on Monday (Nov 15) that any offence the international athletics wear giant caused had been “unintentional”.

“While wayang kulit is a significant part of Malaysia’s cultural heritage, we should have highlighted its origins from Indonesia in our post.

“For avoidance of doubt, neither the brand nor the artist intended to claim the cultural art form came from Indonesia,” wrote the company. /TISG

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