The band’s tour, supported by Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), reflects the company’s awareness on the importance of cultivating strength in diversity toward peace. Slank believes that through its tour, which combines school visits with musical performances, the band has tapped into a universal language that can bridge differences.

Slank vocalist Kaka, lead guitarist Ridho, bassist Ivanka and drummer Bimbim will be touring with cultural figure Zastrouw Al Ngatawi, and will feature special guests in each city.

The Ciamis visit also saw the attendance of Yenny Wahid, director of The Wahid Institute, an Islamic research center founded by her father, the late scholar and former president Abdurrahman Wahid, as well as Yan Partawijaya, director of the Sinar Mas Group, APP’s parent company.

The visit to Darussalam Islamic School opened with a tree-planting ceremony on the school campus, followed by a visit to the tomb of KH Irfan Hilmi, a noted figure of the school and the son of the school’s founder, KH Ahmad Fadil.

After mid-afternoon prayers, a discussion on “Cultures and the Nation” was held at the school hall, which saw the participation of hundreds of students.

At the discussion, Yan spoke on the role the Sinar Mas Group played in the tour. "The participation of Sinar Mas in the ‘Silaturahmi Merajut Kebangsaan’ tour is our way of contributing to the efforts to protect the nation’s unity by fostering tolerance. This aligns with the company’s policy in recruiting employees free from any consideration of their background, ethnicity, religion or race."

Yenny reminded all attendees of the discussion to be grateful for the conditions in Indonesia, which was relatively peaceful, unlike some countries mired by many domestic issues.

"And as the name [of your school] suggests, hopefully Darussalam Islamic School can spread peace everywhere,” Yenny said.

Meanwhile, Zastrouw said that a pesantren (Islamic boarding school) was like a tailor, whose job was to knit together a strong sense of nationhood. "The values taught in a pesantren, namely tasammuh (tolerance) and tawassut (moderation), have proven to be a strong defense both sociologically and historically in preserving the diversity and differences in the country."

Kaka and Bimbim said that it was an honor and a pleasure for the band to be there among the students.

"We had anticipated an awkward reception. But the students proved to be more relaxed than Slank," said Kaka.

The school visit culminated with a live Slank performance in the schoolyard. Mid-show, the students received copies of the Holy Quran and the Juz Amma, as well as Sinar Dunia notebooks, from APP. 

The students, along with the many Slank fans who had traveled to Ciamis, sang along enthusiastically with Kaka.

Following the mini-concert, Zastrouw spoke of the messages of peace and kindness in the songs.

The “Silaturahmi Merajut Kebangsaan” tour continued with a visit to Al Hikmah 2 Islamic school in Brebes on Sept.14, and to the Darussalam Islamic School in Batang on Sept.15.

The band’s next stop will be Mojokerto’s Amanatul Ummah Islamic School on Sept. 17.

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