Iwan sings with conscience

Yusuf Susilo Hartono, Contributor, Jakarta

Iwan Fals, 41, never expected that some day internationally respected Time news magazine would name him one of Asia's 25 Greatest Living Heroes.

He praises God for giving him the talent that has taken him so far. He says that since he became a professional singer in 1975, he has undergone mental conflict bordering on frustration in putting all his ideas into songs.

"Time's citation caught me by surprise. Though of course I thank God for this," he said when interviewed by phone late last month. He was in Batam for a show on a tour of 16 other cities in and outside Java, with a leading cigarette company as his sponsor.

The tight schedule for these shows made Time reporter Jason Tedjasukmana follow him all the way to Surabaya and Bali about two months ago for his article in the latest issue of the magazine.

The interview was arranged by a woman wearing a head scarf intimately called Yos, who is none other than Iwan's wife and also his manager. It was also Yos that arranged this interview with the Jakarta Post.

The harmonious relationship between Iwan and his wife, the parents of the late Galang Rambu Anarki and Cikal Rambu Basac, has given added value in the eyes of his fans.

Iwan also feels flattered to learn that he is on a par with other leading Asian figures like Aung San Suu Kyi, Hamid Karzai, Jacky Chan and fellow countryman Pramoedya Ananta Toer, the literary giant.

He burst into laughter when congratulated for being on equal footing with Japan's Doraemon, also one of Asia's heroes. Time has put Iwan in the ranks of Asia's heroes as he "sings a timeless message of justice for all".

Time is right in its judgment. Ever since the 1970s, Iwan's songs have always expressed meaningful messages. He sings songs yearning for truth, honesty and camaraderie with the little people.

He lashes out at legislators in the House of Representatives and in the People's Consultative Assembly for snoozing while attending sessions and reprimands insensitive leaders for being greedy and corrupt. He incisively criticizes the community's tendency to worship material things rather than the soul.

During Soeharto's New Order era, with military-backed repression prevailing, Iwan, son of a military man, daringly criticized the ruling regime and shouted for democracy.

Listen carefully to his songs that portray social realities such as Oemar Bakri, Mimpi Tak Terbeli (Unbought Dream), Sumbang (False), Wakil Rakyat (People's Representatives), Tikus-tikus Kantor (Office Rats), Pesawat Tempur (Jet Fighter), Yang Terlupakan (The Neglected), Bento, Bongkar (Destroy) and Kesaksian (Testimony).

These songs are Iwan's responses to the small cosmos and the big one. Some express his mood, conveyed symbolically or in portraiture.

In 1980s and 1990s, Iwan was a name that security apparatuses probably likened to a devil incarnate. It was not easy for him to get a permit for his performances. Long before Time named him a hero, he was already a hero to millions of his fans across the country.

Apart from being a solo musician, Iwan, in his musical journey from 1975 to date, has been a member of Swami and Kantata bands. Specifically, he took lessons from noted dramatist and poet Rendra in his Bengkel Teater (Theatrical Workshop).

All this experience, while not so helpful in pushing up the sales of his albums, has indeed considerably improved the quality of his music and lyrics. (Sheila on 7, a group of young musicians from Yogyakarta, is now ahead of him in terms of sales.)

As he works in the music industry, Iwan cannot work alone. At present, he said, the most important thing for him in his music is how his thoughts flow naturally in a creative process. He is still often tempted to tinker with finished works, especially when he is in a recording studio with enough facilities to allow him to do so.

Resisting this temptation usually leads to acute mental conflict, which often borders on frustration, said Iwan, who is highly skilled in karate but did not finish his mass communications studies.

Perhaps it is also owing to this mental conflict that Iwan's latest album, Suara Hati (Conscience), originally titled Doa (Prayer) and slated to be launched in mid-May, took him eight years to prepare and another two years of tinkering in the studio.

Here is Iwan's contemplation in the mid of the reform drive and at the downfall of the New Order. In his song Di Ujung Abad (At the End of Century), he asserts that: "Power has become god, betrayal is the war commander."

In his song Belalang Tua (Old Grasshopper), he satirizes someone unknown, portrayed as an "old grasshopper that is never satisfied". His song Dendam Damai (Revenge in Peace) poses a question as well as a suggestion: Can't we hug each other /aren't we living together /sharing and loving each other /the warmth permeating into the soul /radiating the warmth across the world.

In the title song of his latest album, Iwan touches on something highly valuable for this nation, something that was long gone but that has just begun to be rediscovered in the reform era: conscience. /How are you doing, conscience? /It's been a long time since you were last heard. /Where have you been, conscience? /Without you, it is but loneliness.