The End of Protest Music in Indonesia

In the book 33 Revolutions Per Minute, journalist and music critic Dorian Lynskey discusses the history of protest music. One of the crucial statements that Lynskey makes in this book is regarding the relevance of protest music to world conditions. Lynskey wrote it like this: “Does protest music have the power to change minds, let alone policies? At its core, is protest music an admirable and necessary art form or simply bad art and entertainment?”

These two questions asked by music critics of The Guardian are important because they touch on the central role of music. Apart from being a form of entertainment, music—especially protest music—is also used to convey critical messages regarding socio-political conditions worldwide.

In Indonesia, for example, many musicians use their music as a weapon to criticise the government and policies that are not in favour of society or to discuss social phenomena that occur in the community. The list of musicians who use music as a medium of protest would be very long to list them. We will only discuss these three musicians as examples because we can consider these three to be the most famous. In the past, they were known as musicians who had no fear and who often openly angered the tyrannical people. The three are Slank, Iwan Fals, and Marjinal.

The questions above give rise to a thesis statement: it would be good for us to explore the changing social and political approaches in this famous musician’s work and daily life, from a sharp and revolutionary attitude to a more subtle and comprehensive one.

Why should this thesis statement be explored? Many people think these three musicians are no longer as critical as they used to be, and their musical works have experienced a significant change in theme, from sharp and revolutionary to softer.

How critical was their music in the past? And what social and political impact did their music have? Let’s discuss them one by one.

First, Slank. In the 90s to early 2000s, Slank was a critical musician criticising the government and conveying Indonesia’s socio-political conditions in his music. In songs like “Siapa yang Salah” (Who’s Wrong), “Seperti Para Koruptor” (Like Corruptors), “Gossip Jalanan” (Street Gossip), or “Aktor Intelektual” (Intellectual Actors), Slank pithily and bravely criticises problematic Indonesian politicians or social phenomena such as the 1998 riots which devastated many Indonesians’ lives.

However, many Slank fans—at least those who expressed their opinions in this tweet thread— Critically consider Slank to be stuck on the album Mata Hati Reformasi (1998) and the double album 999+09 (1999). After that, Slank softened. Their songs talk more about romance or other trivial matters of life.

Reporting from Hai magazine, Slank drummer Bimbim stated that Slank’s political attitude in the current era certainly cannot be equated with their attitude in the mid-90s. It’s natural for them to change.

“Political stances in 1997 and 2021 clearly cannot be the same. “The enemy is different, the conditions are different,” explained Bimbim.

In recent years, Slank has received much attention regarding this changing political attitude. In the 2019 election, Slank through Bimbim stated, “Golput is cemen.” (Absention is coward). That everyone must vote to elect a leader candidate in the general election (election). This statement certainly angers those who no longer believe in politicians, political parties and the five-yearly electoral politics called general elections.

Slank is back in the spotlight when, in 2021, their guitarist Abdee Negara was appointed as Telkom commissioner. Several reports stated that Abdee ‘Slank’ was said to be involved in the volunteer team supporting Joko Widodo in the 2014 and 2019 presidential elections. So, Abdee’s appointment as commissioner of one of the BUMNs was considered political retribution, not because of his competence.

Recently, Slank has become the talk of the town again after releasing a new single entitled “Polisi yang Baik Hati” (Kind Hearted Police). Timeline Social media then flooded with criticism from netizens towards Slank. This is because the content of the lyrics of this song is full of sky-high praise for the police institution. However, public trust in the National Police is relatively low. Even a hashtag appeared. #PercumaLaporPolisi (It is useless to report to police), which often becomes a trending topic whenever the police agency has problems or does not professionally handle specific cases.

Slank has earned the nickname “band pelat merah” (red plate band) due to the softening of their political attitudes and closeness to the regime.

Second, Iwan Fals. Perhaps he is the musician most famous for his protest songs, which are very brave in criticising various government policies and social phenomena. Who can deny the power of the music “Bongkar” (Demolish), which Iwan released with the Swami group in 1989? Then, the song “Sore Tugu Pancoran” (1985) describes Iwan Fals’ support for the fate of the nation’s children who suffer from being forced to look for work.

There is another “Surat untuk Wakil Rakyat” (Letter for People’s Representatives) (1987) as, a criticism of the performance of the people’s representatives who sit in the People’s Representative Council (DPR). Don’t forget “Tikus-Tikus Kantor” (Office Rats) (1993) as a satirical song about the culture of corruption at that time; the music is still relevant to current conditions.

The three songs mentioned previously were created by this musician, whose real name was Virgiawan Listanto, during the New Order era in power. However, after the reformation, Iwan Fals still had time to compose the album Manusia Setengah Dewa (Demi-God) (2004) with songs like “Asik Ga Asik”, which bravely says, “The political world of the animal world, the world of animal chaos.”

The critical times of trubadour, which has its headquarters in Leuwinanggung, West Java, are fading as time passes. Iwan Fals softened. The magical “Bongkar” suddenly turned into a slogan for an advertisement for an instant coffee brand. Iwan is no longer picky about the stage. He is recorded as having stood up on stage with the governor of Central Java, Ganjar Pranowo. Iwan’s songs also talk more about romance or romance, such as the songs “Izinkan Aku Menyayangimu” (Let Me Love You), “Aku Bukan Pilihan” (I’m Not a Choice), or “’Ku Menanti Seorang Kekasih” (I’m Waiting for a Lover”.

Third, Marjinal. One of Indonesia’s most famous punk bands was formed in 1997 and was previously named AA (Anti ABRI) and AM (Anti Militarism). Their old name alone shows their political stance: anti-authoritarian New Order and anti-military (before it was called the Indonesian National Army or Tentara Nasional Indonesia/TNI, during the New Order era, the Indonesian armed forces were called the Indonesian Armed Forces or Angkatan Bersenjata Republik Indonesia/ABRI).

Why did Mike Marjinal and his friends previously name their band Anti ABRI and show an anti-militarism attitude? This is because ABRI adhered to dwifungsi ABRI (dual function) in the era when Soeharto was in power. This means that apart from being a defence and state security force, ABRI is also a socio-political force. With this dual function, ABRI became an instrument used by the New Order to perpetuate their power for 32 years and repress anyone who tried to be subversive of that power.

Marjinal became the topic of conversation when a photo circulated of Mike Marjinal shaking hands with Moeldoko, a businessman, politician and retired high-ranking TNI Army officer currently serving as Chief of Staff of the Indonesian President. The photo shows that Marjinal has harmed the sanctity of the “anti-militarism” slogan they once echoed. Marjinal have made peace with the military, an enemy they have criticised in the past.

Reflecting on the story of three Indonesian musicians who are known as critical musicians but are accused of being soft, we can relate it to Dorian Lynskey’s question: Does protest music have the power to change minds, let alone policies? Or maybe protest music is just a form of entertainment worth three dollars to commercial pop music, for example, with lyrics to tell the love story of lovebirds?

Then, it would be good for us to explore the changes in social and political approaches in the work and daily lives of these three famous musicians, from a sharp and revolutionary attitude to a more subtle and comprehensive one.

Of course, it is legal for Slank, Iwan Fals, and Marjinal to change their political attitudes, their musical direction, and the material of the songs they create. We cannot prohibit them because political attitudes are the musician’s prerogative, a right that is their full authority and cannot be contested. We cannot arbitrarily accuse them of not being critical and revolutionary and then force them to maintain the same political views as those they expressed several decades ago.

Times have changed. The answer to Dorian Lynskey’s question is that protest music is not just a cheap form of entertainment. Protest music has the power to change minds. Protest music will always exist and be present in every era.

So, when times change, when the critical and revolutionary era of musicians like Slank, Iwan Fals, and Marjinal ends, there will still be musicians in the younger generation who voice harsh criticism of the authorities and defend people experiencing poverty at the grassroots.

As music listeners, what we can do if we feel fed up with musicians whose political attitudes have changed is to leave them. There’s no need to listen to their works and watch their concerts if you don’t like them anymore. There’s no need to force them to become icons of resistance again when they have confirmed that their political stance has become softer.

After all, in the current era, many other Indonesian musicians are still voicing protest music, and we can listen to and support their movements. Efek Rumah Kaca, Morgue Vanguard, Dendang Kampungan, Navicula, Oscar Lolang, Teknoshit, to name a few.

A few days ago, when I discovered that Slank had released the song “Polisi yang Baik Hati” to celebrate Bhayangkara’s 77th birthday, I immediately naively and rashly reviewed the song as “an ugly cheesy sycophantic kitsch.” In a tweet on Twitter, I immediately told Slank to disband and retire instead of continuing as a band but creating bad songs that became the laughing stock of music listeners. While writing this essay, I rethought my statement. Yes, I must admit I was naive and stupid for forcing my will by telling Slank to disband.

I think that if you don’t like the song “Polisi yang Baik Hati” because it illuminates one of the most problematic institutions in this country, then leave Slank! Don’t listen to the music! It’s okay to criticise, but don’t force it. Let them walk their path, and we walk our small path to continue creating or listening to critical and revolutionary protest music. This would be better so that we remain sane and don’t get confused about being caught up in the paradox of changes in direction and political views of musicians whose critical and revolutionary era has ended.

Ps: Previously featured in Indonesian on Pop Hari Ini.