Song lyrics are a medium for conveying messages of various social issues as well as pounding human awareness to protect nature and maintain traditions in the midst of the onslaught of pop culture through various media. Art has become a creative medium to convey social messages to all people, especially policymakers.
With such a concept, Rafly Kande never runs out of ideas in writing songs because there are so many social problems and forest encroachment that have become increasingly massive lately. Meanwhile, Aceh also has a rich culture that can be raised to the national and even world stage.
The richness and diversity of the archipelago's culture is seen by Rafly as a capital that is actually more attractive to the world community than competing with musicians outside in the same way where they are already far superior.
“All over the world, there is a spirit of exploring the treasures of traditional or ethnic music. Traditional music actually inspires and gives inner wealth to the audience. Now, what is the government's policy to raise the local potential to make it more valuable, "said Rafly when he became the inspiration for the Nusantara Module class Group IV and Group V Malikussaleh University, Saturday, October 23, 2021.
The explanation was delivered by Rafly in response to student questions about efforts to promote local music and make the younger generation love the arts and culture of their own nation. For two hours, the singer who was born on August 1, 1967, shared his inspiration with 40 students from various public and private universities in Java.
Questions came from M Lukluk Atsmara Anjaina from Diponegoro University, Nurul Jannah from Nurul Jadid University, Nabila Maulida Fitria from Semarang State University, Fitrah Dina Karisma from Jenderal Soedirman University, and Mulki Mauli Fahmi who became a mentor for the Nusantara Module Group V at Malikussaleh University.
Not only talking about art and politics, Rafly, who is now a member of the DPR-RI for the Electoral District of Aceh-1, also touched on the issue of forest destruction in Aceh, which should be the concern of all parties. Rafly shares his inspiration with a charming style because in every part he sings the lyrics of his song in Acehnese, Indonesian, even Jamee language which is similar to Minang. He also sang the song "Wakaf Keikhlasan" which tells the story of Aceh's big role in protecting the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia.
Answering M Lukluk Atsmara Anjaina's question about the clash of idealism between artists and politicians, Rafly said he had never experienced it. He can even synergize the two interests to help solve various community problems.
“In Senayan, there is an opportunity to directly influence public policy. Meanwhile, music is a way of preaching in a different way that can be accepted by all parties,” added Rafly in a webinar guided by a lecturer in Group IV, Jufridar MSM.
Regarding the abundance of funds in Aceh and inversely proportional to the poverty rate in Aceh, which is above the national average, Rafly explained philosophically. According to him, Aceh is like a song that has beautiful lyrics and uplifting music, but harmonization is not created because the song is arranged in a chaotic manner.
He also criticized Aceh for failing to take advantage of the momentum of the December 26, 2004 earthquake and tsunami to recover. In fact, from the disaster, Aceh had abundant funds and was visited by celebrities from all over the world. "Aceh is a source of inspiration on all fronts, but we failed to take advantage of it," concluded Rafly.
The lecturer for Group V, Arnawan Hasibuan MT, who opened the webinar, did not expect that Rafly would be willing to be a resource person in the midst of his busy schedule. “In fact, I have never been in contact with Pak Rafly before. Only by communicating via WA, but already willing to share inspiration and experiences with students," he said. [Ayi Jufridar]