Composers, artists get reminder of past sycophancy

JAKARTA (JP): People now dare to face head-on the fact that former president Soeharto's grasp reached well beyond politics and business, even meddling in the arts. Some playwrights have complained about the oppression of fear of censure that hampered their development during his 32 years in power.

It is known that Soeharto made use of dalang (puppet masters) to spread his political message through shadow plays. During Soeharto's regime, some songwriters, too, were political tools. They composed fawning songs glorifying the New Order and even creating a cult around the leader.

"This was a mistake done by veteran singers," Franky Sahilatua of the Foundation for Indonesian Songwriters and Recording Music Arrangers (Pappri) told The Jakarta Post last Saturday.

"An example? Well, everybody knows which song I am referring to."

The song at fault is Soeharto Bapak Pembangunan (Soeharto, The Father of Development), a saccharine homage extolling the leader's virtues. Its composer Titiek Puspa -- considered the godmother of Indonesian music -- sang it in teary-eyed renditions on TV shows and station breaks.

Franky, a member of the foundation's treasury, spoke to the Post Saturday after the media conference held by Pappri on their planned congress this weekend.

A composer, singer and musician himself, Franky said he would propose to the congress to stress that songwriters should not be allowed to make songs that would create cults around presidents.

"Pak Habibie is a funny man in every aspect. This does not mean that I or any other songwriter should make a song about him. And much less a song that would make him seem greater than God."

He added that a fine line should be defined by the congress to prevent such mistakes from being repeated.

Pappri's third national congress will be officially opened Friday by President Habibie at the presidential palace, before continuing at the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture.

Copyright violations, including the rampant piracy of cassettes, VCDs and LDs, and tax fraud are among the seven primary issues on the agenda.

About 500 of the 1000 members nationwide will discuss issues on the founding of a more effective "control system board" to make the earliest detections of piracy, tax fraud and copyright violations, said Husain Audah, head of the congress's steering committee.

"Where does the 10 percent tax on copyright (of Indonesian songs) go to? We know we (composers, songwriters and arrangers) don't receive it. This has to be clarified," he said.

According to Djadjat Sudradjat, head of the copyright violations department at the Association of Indonesian Recording Companies (ASIRI), there are at least two pirated copies to each original album. However, with cassette pirates normally taking hits from individual albums, compiling them and having them sold with or without labels, pirated cassettes likely amount to much more than 10 million copies a month, he said.

Production of national music cassettes is a million a month on average, a drop from last year's average of five million a month, due to the crisis.

He said a pirated compilation of national hit songs sold from Rp 12,500 to Rp 15,000, the same price of an original album.

"It goes much lower than 12,500 when there is no cover," Djajat said.

Husain Audah said other topics of discussion would include the clarifying of Pappri's role as a censor for Indonesian songs, the eradication of tax on cassette recordings and CD-recordings and the role of music in radio, film and television.

"The latter will be clarified and explained by Pak Ishadi (director general of radio, film and television of the ministry of information) who has been invited to give a lecture on the matter," Husain said.

The congress' second day, Husain said, included the selection of the 70-member Pappri council.

Former minister/state secretary Moerdiono and former coordinating minister for people's welfare Azwar Anas are the foundation's current patrons. Ishadi, Director General of Culture of the Ministry of Education and Culture Edi Sedyawati and Director General of Copyright, Patents and Trademarks of the Ministry of Justice Soemarjoto Kajatmo are the development board members.

The council is currently chaired by Sadikin Zuchra, with Dharma Oratmangun as its secretary-general. Husain said that normally 20 percent to 25 percent of the council's board members would be retained for another term.

"A possible change of the council's structural format will also be discussed, since this is the age of reform," Husain said. (ylt)