[VIDEO] M'sian Chinese Man Surprised By Kompang Ensemble At His Birthday Party
Is it really "cultural appropriation"?
A video recently went viral showing friends of a Malaysian Chinese man surprising him for his birthday with a kompang ensemble
The man is seen in the two-minute video having a birthday dinner with his friends at a local restaurant.
Suddenly, a kompang ensemble enters the restaurant and begins playing music surrounding the man and his friends.
The ensemble then stops in front of him, and a birthday cake is presented to the man.
They then perform two renditions of the Happy Birthday song, one in English and one in Chinese.
Image via @isusemasaviral (Twitter)
The unusual birthday celebration piqued the interest of netizens, who were mostly impressed by the man's friend's brilliant birthday surprise idea
One user said that the man was lucky as his friends threw a one-of-a-kind birthday surprise for him.
Image via @isusemasaviral (Twitter)
Another user said the man has good friends because her friends would only send her birthday wishes on WhatsApp.
She added that some people even asked for her address to send her a birthday gift, but she never received anything from them.
Image via @isusemasaviral (Twitter)
Another commented, "The most Malay birthday ever."
Image via @isusemasaviral (Twitter)
While most people found the birthday celebration amusing, some netizens felt it was disrespectful because it could be considered "cultural appropriation"
In the comments section of the original tweet, a user questioned how the birthday celebration could be seen as "appropriate" considering the kompang was being used as part of a prank.
"It can be as offensive as Malays hiring a lion dance group to surprise their friends for their birthday," she said.
Image via @isusemasaviral (Twitter)
Another user agreed with her, saying that the friends used the Malay culture as a joke.
Image via @isusemasaviral (Twitter)
However, many netizens disagreed with her opinion.
One user opined that it was a beautiful celebration and she did not find it disrespectful.
Image via @isusemasaviral (Twitter)
"Don't be shy, just say you want a birthday surprise like that too," said another.
Image via @isusemasaviral (Twitter)
Watch the birthday surprise video here:
In Malaysia, intertwining different cultures to celebrate a special occasion is not rare.
Here are other times Malaysians celebrated different cultures on their special day:
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