(Courtesy of PT Tiga Rambu)

The road to the house of the country’s legendary singer Iwan Fals in Cimanggis, Depok south of Jakarta, was narrow and barely signposted.

But soon the road, on a normally quiet Saturday afternoon, turned into a small party and a market. A few stalls were selling his memorabilia while others were offering food and drinks. Lines of motorcycles and cars filled the road, hinting a crowd was inside the gated high walls of his residence.

Some 5,000 people came to Iwan’s April mini concert – the singer holds monthly concerts with different themes every last Saturday of the month – that celebrated the environment as part of Earth Day festivities.

Despite being 48, Iwan’s voice was loud and clear. He looks healthy and spirited, and reminds the crowd why they love him.

“[His voice is] very powerful. He has sung so many songs but his voice is still as good,” a female fan, Nurleila said.

Even louder, clearer than his voice and music were the messages he brought. This month it was about saving the earth, stopping deforestation, using alternative energy such as cow dung and rejecting nuclear power plants.

Iwan Fals has always been the voice of Indonesia’s grassroots movement since the New Order era, but until now, he has preferred not to be its formal leader. He just keeps doing what he does best – singing and cheering – and persisting, the qualities that keep his fans loyal.

Among them is Munajat David Jainal, 35, who danced along to his song in an energetic free style holding his son in his arm. His wife was sitting under the shade nearby. They come almost every month to watch Iwan’s shows.

“When I was single, you could not see the walls in my room because they were full of Bang Iwan’s posters. After I was married, I had to take them down because I wanted to show my wife some respect,” he said.

“But I keep them all nicely folded in my cupboard. I haven’t thrown any of them away,” he added.

The fans came from all sorts of backgrounds – male and female, quiet viewers to wild dancers, teenagers to middle-aged people, people dressed in jeans and Iwan t-shirts or in religious clothing, and some even brought their babies along.

The rowdy ones represented Iwan’s younger days when he shot to fame with his political and social songs during the Soeharto era, a time when public dissenters could be prosecuted. Those days were marked by a song about a sex worker named Tini, many of whom said was a parody of Ibu Tien, the former first lady.

Iwan’s past was rather rowdy too. Born in Jakarta on Sept. 30, 1961, as Virgiawan Listianto, Iwan moved to Bandung when he was about 14. He did not do well in school and moved from school to school, until he was sent to his mom’s cousin in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. There, a stewardess taught him how to play guitar, introducing him to Bob Dylan songs.

He later returned to Bandung and started making his own humorous songs because he “could not play the Rolling Stones as well as others”.

Even his stage name, Fals - which means falsetto - was a joke his former “manager” (a motorcycle workshop owner) made. He told The Rolling Stones magazine he kept it because it protected him should he perform badly.

He produced a few albums that did not sell widely and busked for a living until he signed up with the Musica Studio in 1981 (he still is with the studio today). He only stopped busking in 1985, when his second child was born.

His songs in this period were strong satires about the incumbent government, poverty and other social issues and continued until 1997 when his eldest son suddenly died while sleeping. He then isolated himself, devoting his time to painting and martial arts. Only five years later did he release another album, singing about his son’s death in one of the songs.

The tamer quieter fans may reflect his recent style. No more long hair, thick mustache and hot-blooded image. Now Iwan appears clean, with a shaved mustache, short hair and has a calm demeanor. He also started singing love songs, written by others, along with his own songs.

Despite his more mellow and reflective style, thankfully, he retained the same concern for social, political and now environmental issues, especially deforestation.

“I do not know the details about how [to save the forest] but when trees are being cut, it hurts. Everyone may know how to plant, but does everyone know how to take care of trees?” he said in the after-show press conference.

“If animists respect the trees so much and devote themselves to trees, why can’t I? I am sorry to say, but tree cutting has to take a break. I heard that it is now even happening in Papua,” he added.

So he started doing something. He planted trees with the ministry, supported NGOs that focus on the environment like Greenpeace and the WWF, and pledged to be greener at home.

“It makes me reflect. My guitars are made of wood. My window and door frames are made of wood...But okay, [from now on] the spirit is to be green. I told my family members we have to learn to live greener, from clothes, food to electricity. Because it is hard to do it, we said we should just follow the Kyoto Protocol by cutting 30 percent of our energy usage,” he said.

But the big message, he said, is preventing people from cutting down more trees, although he admitted even his close relationship with the forestry ministry could not help him find a solution.

“I know a lot of people depend on the forest. But they should get other jobs. The government has a responsibility to train and assist these people to find other occupations. If it [the government] cannot fulfill its task, then...well...,” he said, leaving the answer hanging.

“I once called the Forestry Minister Bang Kaban [M.S. Kaban] a friend because he gave me a poem for my song called “Hutanku” [My Forest]... His heart wanted to do something. He gave me the lyrics which I turned into a song.

“I told him the tree cutting had to stop. He said ‘Oh...That can’t be done because there are a lot of industrial forests that many people depend on to make a living. He was confused [about what to do]. Under these circumstances, we can just start slowly by planting trees one by one,” he said.

Asked if we could tolerate a few more years of the current practice, he said the issue was the culture within the government and business communities.

“If we want to share the natural wealth generously with others and find a good system to do that, we will realize that we do not have to depend on the forests. We have such vast seas that have lots of potential. The rivers have a lot of potential too. The 13 rivers in Jakarta, if well managed, can be used as tourist attractions and employ many people.

“As long as everyone works seriously and pledges they will feed their family in a halal way, it surely will succeed. Everything must start with goodwill,” he said.

The government, he pointed out, must take saving the environment seriously.

“Heaven does not come on its own. Heaven must be seized. We have another heaven but it is only after we are dead. Now it is the heaven [on Earth] that we have to seize, and time is running out fast. Three years, fifteen years [later], we will realize we are running out of oxygen...The next president must love our planet Earth,” he said.

Who is suitable among current potential presidential runner-ups then?

“I don’t know. Ideally I think they should be someone aged between 35 and 45 years old but there are none now. Ideally, the second generation should rise while the first generation retires and guides them.

“Not that I do not trust them [the older generation], but Indonesia is so huge. To lead it, you need to have the energy and health to visit villages and other places. Plus, if these young leaders do not manage the country well, the elders can still guide them. Our younger generation has been suppressed while the older generation is still being naughty,” he said.

Despite being pressed by his fans to run for office, he would rather support influential actors who wish for a better world.

“My job is singing. Let us do what we do best. I do not feel inferior with singing. Even the prophet David was an artist,” he said.

“Of course it’s [just] talk, and it depends on them if whether they have the heart to listen. I see there are still a lot of people who are still working to live,” he said.

“I choose life and I do things with a light heart,” he said.

And that is how he plans to seize heaven on earth, if not in his lifetime, perhaps in the next generation – if time allows. 

• Winner of Festival Musik Country (1980).

• Gold record for song “Oemar Bakri” from PT. Musica Studio’s.

• Silver record for singer and song writer of song “Ethiopia” from PT. Musica Studio’s.

• The best selling album for Mata Dewa from BASF, 1988 – 1989.

• Best singer for album Anak Wayang from BASF Award XI, 18 April 1996.

• Best country/ballad singer, Indonesian Music Award – 1999.

• Best singer for Sharp’s Indonesian Music Award — 2000.

• Time Magazine Asia’s Heroes (2002)

• Triple Platinum Award for Best of The Best Iwan Fals album from PT. Musica Studio’s.

• Best album and singer for country/ballads from 6th AMI Sharp Award,

• Triple Platinum Award for album In Collaboration With from PT. Musica Studio’s.

• Legend awards and best male singer at 7th AMI Award 2003

Discography:

• Yang Muda Yang Bercanda I (1979) [The Joking Youth 1]

• Yang Muda Yang Bercanda II (1979) [The Joking Youth 2]

• Canda Dalam Nada (1979)  [Joking in Notes]

• Canda Dalam Ronda (1979) [Joking in Wheel]

• Perjalanan (1980) [Journey]

• Sarjana Muda (1981) [Young Graduate]

• Opini (1982) [Opinion]

• Sumbang (1983) [Falsetto]

• Sugali (1984)

• Barang Antik (1984) [Antique]

• Sore Tugu Pancoran (1985) [Afternoon Pancoran Monument]

• (KPJ) Kelompok Penyanyi Jalanan (1985) [Buskers]

• Ethiopia (1986)

• Aku Sayang Kamu (1986) [I love you]

• Lancar (1987) [Smooth]

• Wakil Rakyat (1987) [Representatives]

• Antara Aku Kau Dan Bekas Pacarmu (1988) [Between I, You and Your ex-lover]

• 1910 (1988)

• Mata Dewa (1989) [God’s Eyes]

• SWAMI (1989)

• Kantata Takwa (1990)

• Cikal (1991) [Starter]

• SWAMI II (1991)

• Belum Ada Judul (1992) [No Title Yet]

• Hijau (1992)

• Dalbo (1993)

• Orang Gila (1994)

• Anak Wayang (1994)

• Kantata Samsara (1998)

• Live Kantata Takwa Samsara (“Peristiwa Senayan”)

• Best Of The Best (2000)

• Suara Hati (2002) [Heart]

• In Collaboration With (2003)

• Manusia Setengah Dewa (2004) [Half-God Human]

• Iwan Fals In Love (2005)

• 50:50 (2007)

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