KOTA KINABALU – Asmin Mudin, the famed composer of Sayang Kinabalu, said Sabah musicians have been earning peanuts from royalties over the last 30 years.
Sayang Kinabalu, despite getting heavy airplay, brings in only RM124 a year, a value determined by the collective management of copyright organisations (CMOs) in the peninsula.
It is insulting how little royalty is paid for Sabah music, said Asmin.
“For example, Sayang Kinabalu is paid RM124 a year, Id Pagandadan gets RM60 a year, Lampa-lampa Pisang, RM333 a year, and Dari Kita Saja Baitu, RM15 a year.
“All this is happening because the CMOs see the ethnic songs of Sabah and Sarawak as being enjoyed only during the Kaamatan and Gawai festivals.
“Although Sabah has more than 5,000 ethnic songs, and Sarawak has 4,000 songs, these CMOs are likely to assume that the 9,000 songs are used only by village shamans.”
The organisations handling the payment of music royalties in the country are Recording Performers Malaysia Bhd, Music Authors’ Copyright Protection Bhd and Public Performance Malaysia Sdn Bhd.
Asmin, who is also Sabah Music Composers and Video Makers’ Association (SCORE) chairman, said more than 100 clubs in Penampang alone pay CMOs between RM300 and RM13,000 a year.
“The intellectual property of a song involves the composers, lyricists, producers, recording companies, videographers, musicians and singers.
“So, the royalty payments are divided into seven categories. If Sayang Kinabalu is paid RM124 a year, can you imagine how it is shared by seven parties?”
He said he came to know of the discrimination against ethnic songs in 2007.
He sensed that something was amiss when his Malay songs made more royalties than his Dusun ones.
“I asked friends about their payments, and they, too, received ‘despicable’ amounts.”
Asmin said he was reprimanded when he demanded answers from CMOs, and that he has been seeking data and an explanation since 2017.
He said SCORE then brought the matter to intellectual property body MyIPO’s attention.
The Sabah group’s 272 members are willing to withdraw from peninsula-based CMOs, he said, adding that the issue discourages Sabahan talent from joining the music industry.
They are very talented, but there is no professional management. Sabahans are able to produce internationally popular songs if they get fair treatment.”
It is not the first time that a Sabah group is questioning the treatment dished out by peninsula-based organisations.
In 2012, the Sabah Tourist Guides’ Association (STGA) distanced itself from the Malaysian Tourist Guides’ Council over the latter’s failure to resolve the problems faced by guides in the state.
Former STGA president Daniel Doughty said the straw that broke the camel’s back was when the federal government decided to allow South Korean tour guides to work in Sabah, sidelining locals. – The Vibes, June 24, 2021
