Discovery will Produce Pendet Dance Show

Malaysia’s Star newspaper reported on Saturday, that Discovery Channel will produce a 30-minute program on the pendet dance to try and alleviate tensions between Malaysia and Indonesia.

Discovery South-East Asia senior vice president and general manager Kevin Dickie said that he and the network concerned by the latest developments in Jakarta and reiterated that the use of the pendet clip was a mistake and was in no way a malicious attempt to undermine Indonesia. He said that the programs would be aired on the channel throughout the Asia-Pacific. "It was a human error by an independent producer that Discovery Network takes responsibility for,” Said Kevin Dickie. Kevin also hoped that the current situation will lead to a broader understanding of the richness of both Malaysian and Indonesian culture. The problems started when The Balinese pendet dance (along with an Indonesian dancer) was featured in a 30-second promotional piece produced for Discovery Channel to promote the series "Enigmatic Malaysia." It led to a hard and loud protests from Indonesians, claiming that it was another attempt by Malaysia to steal and claim the Indonesia cultural heritage.