Article falsely presents video from a Chinese broadcaster as “official advertisement for Malaysia tourism”

A video produced by a Chinese broadcaster to mark the 50th anniversary of Sino-Malaysian relations resurfaced online, along with a misleading claim that it was a promotion by the Malaysian government to lure tourists to the coastal state of Malacca. However, footage from the state’s official tourism agency showed different scenes from those shown in the misleading posts.

“Promotional video for tourism in Malacca, but it looks like a video about visiting Guangzhou,” read an X-post dated July 31, 2024, which was reposted 1,000 times.

The accompanying two-minute, 20-second video includes subtitles in simplified Chinese and the logo of Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu in the top left corner.

It shows dancers in traditional dress singing and dancing through various sights in the historic Malaysian state of Malacca. Many of them appear to be of Chinese descent.

The current Malaysian government is believed to be seeking rapprochement with China, especially after Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced in June that Malaysia wants to join the BRICS group of developing countries (archived link).

However, improving relations have also raised fears among Malay nationalists of a resurrection of a Chinese identity in the country (archived link).

Similar misleading posts on X here, here, here and here shared the same video along with concerns that Malays might lose their rights in the Southeast Asian country.

However, the clip was shared in a misleading context: it was produced by a Chinese state broadcaster to mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Malaysia and China.

Clip from a Chinese broadcaster

A keyword search on Xiaohongshu revealed the same clip shared by a Malaysian travel agency, Golden Point Leisure & MICE Holiday, on July 19, 2024 (archived link).

The subtitle in simplified Chinese states that the song is a collaboration between Malaysian singer Ah Niu and Chinese singer Huang Ying, who sang a mashup of the Malay-language folk song “Rasa Sayang” and the Chinese folk song “Jasmine Flower” to commemorate 50 years of relations between the two countries.

The source of the video was also stated: “New Folk Song Congress”.

Further keyword searches on Google revealed that the broadcast was released by Chinese state broadcaster Guangxi TV as part of a one-hour show on July 6, 2024 to celebrate Sino-Malaysian relations (archived link).

The clip can be seen at minutes 38 and 53 of the entire show and also shows the two singers exploring the historical state of Malacca.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the video used in the misleading posts (left) and the footage from Guangxi TV (right):

The state tourism department, Tourism Malacca, also released a longer version of the musical number on its official Facebook page on July 6, stating that the official recording was broadcast on Guangxi TV in the hope of increasing the number of tourists from China, especially from Guangxi province (archived link).

The official promotional video “Visit Malacca” was released on YouTube by the Tourism Authority on 20 July 2023 and showcases various cultural influences in the state (archived link):