Disgruntled Indonesians Flood Speed’s Comments Over Dispute Over Batik’s Origins

However, Indonesian netizens have taken to social media to express their anger when a Malaysian man said that batik originated from Malaysia. In a viral video, Speed looked up the origins of Batik online, typing, “Where is batik from?”

He then questioned the driver, “Why does it say that batik originated in Indonesia?” The Malaysian man replied, “There are two types. The one that they gave you which is floral, which is Malaysian. Indonesian (batik depict) animals…Batik is Malaysian, it originated from Malaysia,” the man said.

“The art of batik is highly developed on the island of Java, Indonesia. Although the antiquity of the technique is difficult to determine,” Speed read off his search. He concluded by saying, “I don’t know,” apparently confused by the contradicting information he was given.

Speed udah googling "where is batik from", sama tour guidenya masih aja dibilang "batik is originally from Malaysian"L country ?? pic.twitter.com/Mcb5QYfjnz

— ????? ???????? (@AffanIbnani) September 17, 2024

Thousands of Indonesians also flooded Speed’s social media with comments, telling him that Batik is from Indonesia. Some dissatisfied Indonesians even said, “Malaysia is a country that likes to claim the culture of other countries.” Ouch!

Some Malaysians also fought back over the claims, with one X user saying, “Bro, I am a batik maker from Malaysia and what Speed is wearing is batik from Malaysia. Every country has its own batik and designs, so there’s no need to ‘claim’. As long as the design features Malaysian batik designs then it’s Malaysian batik.”

She said, “Actually, the philosophy of our traditional batik is the same but our new ideology is different, but we cannot dispute over the batik designs that Malaysia makes. By the way, I have also asked Indonesian batik makers and their methods and motifs are different from ours.”

An Indonesian retorted, “He’s asking the roots of batik. Batik originated from Malaysia. Even if you want Upin & Ipin patterns, it’s still from Indonesia. It’s the same like dumplings which are from China, even if you fill it with nasi lemak, dumplings are still from China, understand?”

After his Malaysian stop, Speed travelled to Indonesia, where a local fan gifted him with batik. Addressing the issue, the fan told him, “It’s from Indonesia, it’s not from Malaysia.” Speed, then put the shirt on.

A fan gifted Speed an Indonesian Batik ??pic.twitter.com/A6MtShJ3IP

— Speedy Updates (@SpeedUpdates1) September 18, 2024