Update: Indonesia is no longer coronavirus-free with the government announcing the first infections in the country after the publication of this article.
Original story follows.
While much of the world continues to struggle with the global COVID-19 outbreak, in Indonesia, where there is inexplicably still zero confirmed coronavirus infections in the country thus far, it could be said that attitudes towards the deadly disease are relatively relaxed than in affected countries. So much so that this song exists.
On Feb. 27, a relatively small-time dangdut (a uniquely Indonesian melding of folk tunes and traditional pop — arguably the most popular genre in the country) singer named Alvi Ananta released the music video to her new single Comunitas Rondo Merana (Miserable Widows Community) on YouTube via her record label Samudra Record. The song title forms the portmanteau “Corona,” which is what COVID-19 and the virus that causes the disease is colloquially known as in Indonesia (most still can’t differentiate the two).
Below is an excerpt of the song’s lyrics, translated:
I am a victim of the virus
The virus that’s troubling my heart
Hot and cold, I can’t sleep
Day and night chatting with my boyfriend
Opened my eyes, I thought I saw you in a flash
I think I dreamt about you
Why don’t you marry me soon
Marry a widow because of my status?
Corona, the virus from China
Miserable Widows Community
Corona, spreading throughout the world
A community of widows that’s causing unrest
Wives who are left at home by working husbands
Meanwhile the husbands are out on dates with Corona
It was evident that Alvi and whoever produced this racist drivel of a song wanted to create something that they thought was edgy and funny at the same time in order for it to go viral. Well, go viral it did, but probably not in the way that they had hoped as the original video was disliked into oblivion (reportedly with some 29 thousand thumbs down), which resulted in it being pulled from YouTube.
Unsurprisingly, the majority of the public found the song offensive rather than funny. As reported by Detik, Indonesian migrant workers in COVID-19-affected countries in particular found the song deeply upsetting for making light of the disease while those around them were infected.
“We are preparing further steps to be taken in this coronavirus song polemic, which was created and performed by an artist from Banyuwangi (in East Java),” said Krisna Adi, chairman of the East Java chapter of the Family of Indonesian Migrant Workers Community (KAMI).
“I have received many protests [about the song] from migrant workers. The song taints the good name of Banyuwangi. At a time when we’re concerned about the virus, she made something like this.”
Krisna said that KAMI, on behalf of the Indonesian migrant workers, plans to hold a mediation session with Alvi to discuss the song before further legal action is taken. Neither Alvi nor her record label have released any statements regarding the controversy.
The dangdut genre is a saturated market in Indonesia, with newcomers into the industry having to really think outside of the box in order to stand out. Perhaps the most tragic example of this was Irma Bule, who was bitten by a cobra that was used as a prop in her show. Irma kept on singing on stage for 45 minutes before she died.
Reader Interactions