Malaysian group Raihan gains popularity here

By Endi Aras

JAKARTA (JP): Why are Malaysian songs easily accepted by Indonesians? The answers are varied. It might be because the melodies presented by Malaysian musicians are in tune with the feelings and emotions of most Indonesians, or because its language, which is similar to Indonesian, is easily understood. Another reason might be because the Malaysian dialect sounds strange but is nice to utter.

Sheila Majid is a Malaysian singer who has plenty of fans in Indonesia. A number of Malaysian songs are also very popular here, such as Issabela, Suci Dalam Debu (Pure in Dust), or Gerimis Mengundang (Inviting Drizzle).

Now, another Malaysian vocal group, Raihan, has begun to gain popularity in Indonesia.

Raihan is not a musical group. This Malaysian contemporary Nasyid group, a vocal group presenting songs of praise, recently showed appeared at a cafe in the Kuningan area, South Jakarta. Those who know or had heard of Raihan flocked to the performance of this group, which is made up of four young men.

After an absence of quite a while in their home country, Raihan, came to Indonesia to introduce their third album, Senyum (Smile) and hold charity concerts in a number of Indonesia's major cities, such as at the University of Indonesia on Dec. 18, the Bandung-based Technology Institute on Dec. 19, the Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta on Dec. 22 and at the Surabaya Technology Institute on Dec. 25.

"Smiling is the easiest thing to do and it is also recommended by religion. A sincere smile is tantamount to giving alms and must be part of our daily lives. Despite our bad moods, try to smile because when you smile your sorrow will go away," Nazrey Johani, one of the four young men making up Raihan, explained why the group's third album was titled Senyum.

The album is produced by Warner Music, which has an office in Jakarta. The group's previous albums, Puji-Pujian (Eulogy) and Syukur (Gratitude to God), have been big hits in Malaysia.

Although in Indonesia there are many Nasyid groups, the presence of Raihan enriches the wealth of songs of praise.

Besides, Raihan has taken materials for their songs from Indonesia, processed and returned them to Indonesia to be enjoyed by Indonesians.

Raihan's previous albums have put the group at its highest point in the history of contemporary Nasyid music in its home country.

Thanks to their two albums, Raihan, which compromises of Azhari Ahmad, 31, Nazrey, 28, Che Amran Idris, 30, and Abu Bakar Mohd. Yatim, 29, has received 16 Platinum awards for sales of some 800,000 cassettes. They were awarded four trophies in 1998 and at the 1999 Musical Industry Awards in Malaysia.

Because of this outstanding achievement, Malaysia's print media has reported that the group now earns between 15,000 and 20,000 ringgit (Rp 27.9 million to Rp 37.3 million) per show, which is quite high in Malaysian standards. Yet, this is not the price offered to us. "It is how we are appreciated. We do not set this price. What matters to us is that people appreciate us. So the fees show how people appreciate us," a member of the group said.

"Raihan means heavenly fragrance. It suits our wishes and it also suits what we are going to get across to our listeners," said Abu Bakar about Raihan, which was set up in October 1996.

Raihan has opted for Nasyid, not for the sake of sensation.

"We opted for Nasyid because previously in Malaysia the youngsters were undergoing social problems. There were quite a lot of rock music groups but that was not our choice of music. At that time we were asked to get together and convey a good message through songs. So, Warner launched our albums," Azhari Ahmad said.

Tambourine and other percussion instruments are the main accompaniment to their singing. If you listen to a number of their songs, you will agree that this group is established indeed, especially in vocal distribution.

Once, the group was invited by Queen Elizabeth and performed Syukur before her. "The queen asked me the meaning of the song," said Che Amran, reminiscing.

The group's third album, Senyum, consists of 10 songs, all of which are in Malaysian. The songs are Bismillah (The Name of Allah), Senyum, Tak Selamanya (Not Forever), Nabi Anak Yatim (The Prophet an Orphan), Cinta Hakiki (Essential Love), Bersatu (United), Anak Permata (Most-Beloved Child), Ya Rasulullah, 10 Malaikat (Ten Angels) and Cahaya Selawat (Light of Invocation).

The songs' titles clearly show that Raihan does not only entertain people but also gets across messages through the lyrics of their songs of praise.

Their songs are easily accepted, though, by Indonesians familiar with the Malaysian dialect. Besides, the materials, atmosphere and sounds presented in these songs are taken from Indonesia. They have been processed and then simplified. Therefore, this album is closer to the atmosphere of Indonesia than that of Malaysia, although some words are still sung in the Malaysian dialect.

What is most important to Raihan is how they can get the message in their songs across to the audience.

"There are problems in a number of regions in Indonesia. We will donate the proceeds of our concerts, organized by the SKEMA Foundation, to the Ambonese community," Che Amran added.