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Singapore's National Heritage Board (NHB) has announced a multinational nomination for the inscription of the kebaya onto UNESCO's representative list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

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Singapore, alongside Brunei, Malaysia and Thailand, jointly nominated the kebaya, a traditional form of women's dress in the Southeast Asian region. According to NHB, it became highly fashionable at the turn of the 20th century and continues to be worn today.

The long-sleeved open-fronted garment is made traditionally from various fabrics and is known for being adorned with intricate embroidery.

For Singapore, the kebaya is synonymous with the Singapore Airlines Girl with the stewardess uniform.

However, following the announcement by NHB on Nov. 23, 2022, netizens took to social media to voice their displeasure, specifically, how the kebaya is from Indonesia, with some claiming cultural appropriation.

Unhappy Comments

Netizens voiced their displeasure on both Facebook and Instagram comment sections.

Others stressed that the kebaya belonged to Indonesia alone, while others said that the kebaya NHB posted on their social media resembles the Nonya kebaya.

Multinational nomination

In a press release on Nov. 23, NHB details that the idea was proposed and coordinated by Malaysia. It was discussed as a part of a series of working meetings amongst a number of countries in 2022.

The four nations agreed to work together on this as the kebaya represents and celebrates the region's rich shared history, promotes cross-cultural understanding and continues to be present and actively produced and worn by many communities across Southeast Asia.

The four participating countries welcome other countries to join this multinational nomination, said NHB.

According to The Straits Times (ST), Indonesia's kebaya supporters are pushing for their country to join the multinational bid to nominate the kebaya.

More than a dozen kebaya cultural groups met in Jakarta on Nov. 29 to discuss whether Indonesia should join Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia and Thailand, reported ST.

Lia Nathalia, head of Komunitas Perempuan Berkebaya (Community of Kebaya-wearing Women), spoke to ST and said that all the groups that attended the meeting supported the multinational bid.

"It's better for us to bring the spirit of ASEAN as one community. Why don't we also try to embrace others... and push to nominate the kebaya as a region," she said to ST.

The nomination will be filed by Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei and Thailand in Mar. 2023, said NHB.

The results are expected to be announced at the end of 2024.

Top photo from National Heritage Board Singapore