The video ‘Helo Kuala Lumpur’ on the Lagu Kanak TV YouTube channel has triggered controversy among Indonesian internet users who claimed the lyrics and melody are similar to the song ‘Halo, Halo Bandung’ - which originates from their country.

According to Indonesian media, the Lagu Kanak TV channel, which claims to be from Malaysia, uploaded a video of the song in 2018 and again in 2020 on the same channel.

The song ‘Helo Kuala Lumpur’ is almost identical to the Indonesian song ‘Halo, Halo Bandung’, according to CNBC Indonesia which compared lyrics from the two videos.

CNN Indonesia also reported that the song ‘Helo Kuala Lumpur’ only changed a few words from the original lyrics of ‘Halo, Halo Bandung’, the work of Betawi artiste Ismail Marzuki.

The music video has been trending on the X platform, previously known as Twitter, since Monday.

Ismail, better known as Bang Maing, was born in Jakarta on May 11, 1914, and died on May 25, 1958, and was posthumously awarded the title of Indonesian National Hero in 2004.

Responding to the alleged copyright infringement in the song that has been circulating on YouTube since 2018, Indonesian Ambassador to Malaysia Hermono said they were still collecting evidence regarding the plagiarism.

“We are still collecting more detailed information,” he said, as quoted by Tribunnews.com.

- Bernama

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