Reformation inspires protest songs from nation's artists

By Stevie Emilia

JAKARTA (JP): Student protests a few months ago not only led to the downfall of Soeharto and brought some changes to the country's politics but they also inspired artists and musicians to be more critical.

Piles of cassettes with the word reformation on the cover -- some even feature students' protests -- are displayed on the shelves of record stores across the city.

Iwan Fals, who, through his songs, always voices the people's agony and frustration, released recently his new album Panggung Reformasi: Ada Lagi Yang Mati (Reformation Stage: More Deaths).

In one of the album's 19 songs, Jangan Bicara (Don't Talk), he condemns some people's tendency to boast about idealism, nationalism and justice while many people are suffering. Mimpi Yang Terbeli (Bought Dreams) depicts the grim reality facing many people who no longer have money to buy what they need due to the soaring prices.

Iwan's simple lyrics make his songs well-accepted by listeners. In fact, Iwan has voiced criticism and talked about the daily problems of the majority of Indonesians since 1989, when he released his first album Oemar Bakri, named after his song about the hard life of a school teacher. His other hits include Bongkar (Unravel), about the authorities ignoring people's rights over their land taken to make way for development projects, and Bento, which condemns greed and corruption.

Reform has also inspired Doel Sumbang, who created his latest single, Tarian Nepotisme (Nepotism Dance), in collaboration with Ully and Kaum Reformasi.

The song is about the people's ordeal in dealing with high prices of staple foods and gasoline, with poet Taufiq reading his poem in the song. Titled Takut 66 Takut 98 (Fear 66 Fear 98), the poem refers to the students' protests during Sukarno's regime in 1966 and Soeharto's government in 1998:

Students are afraid of the lecturer/lecturers are afraid of the dean/deans afraid of the rector/rectors are afraid of the minister/ministers are afraid of the president/presidents are afraid of the students.

Musician Erick Yusuf and his group Partai Baru (New Party) have also released an album, Topeng Reformasi (Reformation Mask), which contains criticism against members of the House of Representatives', dirty politics, high staple food prices, looting and rapes in the recent riots and the increasing number of unemployed people.

In one of the songs, Topeng Reformasi, Erick derides politicians and public figures who suddenly, on television and in newspapers, talk about and support reformation by making empty promises to combat corruption, collusion and nepotism. In Wakil Negeri (The Country's Representatives), he voices people's aspiration on the members of the House of Representatives:

".. We need the country's representatives, not talking dolls/we don't need a king, we don't need gods, we just need ordinary people who can purely guard the nation and the country/we want representatives with a conscience to defend the motherland .."

Another group of young musicians, Slank, released their eighth album, Mata Hati Reformasi (Reformation Conscience), on the same date as the anniversary of the country's independence on Aug. 17.

With their simple streetwise language, Slank, which still maintains a music identity that defies conventional norms of harmony and composition, went on with its typical criticism that has become its label since the group was set up in 1983.

In the new album, that has a combination of blues, reggae and hard rock, Slank releases Salah Siapa, a song which was supposed to be in its seventh album, Tujuh (Seven), released in January this year. The song criticizes a dominant political party which uses whatever means necessary to win elections.

"The song was censored ... but now, it's the reform era, so everybody feel free to express opinions," says Bimo "Bimbim" Sidharta, the band's founder and drummer, on the album's cover, without mentioning who censored the song.

Slank expresses their concern over seeing that many people are suffering due to a steady rise of staple food prices, as expressed in Naik-naik ke Puncak Gunung (Climb, Climb to the Mountain's Peak), while in Nagih (Demand), Slank demands the government to keep its promises to alleviate poverty and to combat corruption, collusion and nepotism. In Missing Person, they question the abduction of some activists.

Where are they/how are they/hiding or being kidnapped/inside jail or already dead?

Producers have also seized the moment as the right time to compile old songs and release albums as reformation packages, such as Salam Musik Reformasi (Reform Music Greetings), featuring various artists, including Chrisye, Ebiet G. Ade, Kahitna, Java Jive, Oppie and Vina Panduwinata.

Music composer and observer Franki Raden found the trend to release albums with reformation packages -- apart from the aesthetic values and political contents -- as natural in the music industry.

Some of the songs are created by musicians who really care about the people and reforms in the country, like Iwan Fals and Doel Sumbang. But there are also other musicians who create songs with a reform theme just to meet market demands.

People, he said, should be selective and critical. "It'll be funny if an artist who used to sing about the Father of Development now suddenly sings about the Father of Reformation," Franki said, referring to a song titled Bapak Pembangunan (Father of Development) composed by Titiek Puspa for Soeharto.