Polibatam Invites Independent Student Exchange (PMM) Participants to Get to Know Malay Cultures More Closely
POLIBATAM-Politeknik Negeri Batam (Polibatam) held the 2023 Nusantara Module activity of Independent Student Exchange/Pertukaran Mahasiswa Merdeka (PMM) at the Malay Traditional Foundation/Lembaga Adat Melayu (LAM) building, Saturday 9 September 2023 to get to know various Malay cultures. This activity was attended by 128 students from state to private campuses throughout Indonesia who are members of the PMM program at the Polibatam campus.
At this event, the speaker for the talk show was the Head of Division (Kabid) of the Batam City Culture and Tourism Service/Dinas Kebudayaan dan Pariwisata (Disbudpar), Muhammad Zen. He explained that the ten elements of the Regional Cultural Principles/Pokok Pikiran Kebudayaan Daerah (PPKD) compiled by the Batam City Government (Pemko) consisted of oral traditions, manuscripts, customs, rites, traditional knowledge, traditional technology, art, language, folk games, and traditional sports.
Zen also explains Malay Arabic writing. This Malay Arabic book tells the story of Sang Nila Utama, a prince who founded Temasek or Singapore. The Batam City Culture and Tourism Office also conveyed the story of Mak Yong, a traditional theater art close to the Malay people’s ears. In the theater show, Mak Yong tells a lot about palace life, complete with moral messages to convey.
Not only in Batam and Bintan, Mak Yong art also exists in Malaysia, specifically in Kelantan. Besides, the art has also been played in Thailand, specifically in Pattani City, the southernmost city in Thailand and borders Malaysia. The difference is that Mak Yong in these two countries is a dancer without a mask.
In the performances, Mak Yong adapts to each region. The shows usually contain entertainment stories, messages, and so on. Especially in Batam, the performance carries an entertainment concept, more hilarious to make the audience happy and laugh. “Mak Yong’s stories always tell about palace and royal life, such as the stories of kings, empresses, princesses and crown princesses who are struck by disaster and usually end up winning through struggle,” explained Zen.
The head of Batam Disbudpar, Ardiwinata, said that Batam has many cultural traditions that are interesting to know. This activity follows Regional Regulation/Peraturan Daerah (Perda) Number 1 of 2018 concerning the Advancement of Malay Culture. “Regarding culture, there are things that people need to know, namely promotion and preservation. “The reference is from ten PPKD (Pelaksana Pengelolaan Keuangan Desa/Village Financial Management Implementers),” said Dato’ Ardi. A form of preservation is an effort to maintain culture as it is. Meanwhile, advancement is an effort to increase cultural resilience through protecting, developing, utilizing, and fostering culture.
The Polibatam lecturer, as the Nusantara Module supervisor, Slamet Subagio, said that this activity was attended by 128 PMM students from state and private campuses throughout Indonesia. “Thank you for the welcome from LAM Batam City and Disbudpar. “Through this activity, students understand more the Indonesian cultures and know that Batam has a good culture,” said Slamet.
The Nusantara module of PMM 2023 is followed by students for one semester or six months. These activities include learning activities on campus, diversity/Kebhinekaan sessions, social contributions, reflection, and inspiration. This activity at LAM is a diversity session.
Apart from studying academically, it is hoped that with this activity, PMM participants at Polibatam will also learn about Malay culture in Batam and can share this experience with friends and grow their love for Indonesian cultures.
Greetings Polibatam
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