History Of The Song Blood Fighting: Fire Of Student Spirit Lengserkan Suharto And New Order

The action of students who succeeded in occupying the MPR/DPR building in Jakarta. (WIkimedia Commons)

JAKARTA - Student demonstrations are increasingly colorful with the presence of struggle songs. The study is considered capable of burning the spirit of moving students. John Tobing and his friends were also called to create songs. Magical Juang, his name.

The song composed by Gadjah Mada University (UGM) students is like a powerful tool of resistance. Juangkerap's blood was sung every 1990s student action. A song that slowly became the role song (theme song) toppled Suharto and the New Order (Orba) in 1998.

History has noted that student actions are not only filled with screams. Students often appear creative in coloring expressing opinions in public. They do it in all kinds of ways. In fact, by creating struggle songs.

A series of songs were sung in demonstrations as a form of encouragement and ridicule to the dilapidated government. The narrative was shown by students in the 1966 class when removing Soekarno and the Old Order.

Songs like the Minister of Goblok and Pekingjadi's best known. The song proved effective. The enthusiasm of students in voicing the aspirations of the people is getting brighter and disturbs the government's ears.

Students in the New Order era did not want to lose. They have their own struggle songs. John Tobing made the lyrics collectively by John Tobing, Dadang Juliantara, Andi Munadjat, and Budiman Sudjatmiko.

A series of students gathered in one room in one of the organizational secretariats at UGM. Syair song is written on the whiteboard. Several song lyrics were then perfected. The point is that John Tobing tries to make a song sparked the fighting spirit of young people against injustice.

The narrative can be seen clearly from the lyrics: they are deprived of their rights, evicted and hungry, Mother relaxes our fighting blood, to free the people. In fact, the song that had just been created quickly spread and used as a 'theme song' for struggle throughout the country.

Kuluskan untuk menambahkan kata Bunda pada pembunyi lagu itu. Pada jelang tengah malam, tercipallah lagu baru yang oleh John dibeributul Ikh Juang. Pada tengah malam itu juga kami berbua-ramai meyanyikannya, sebuah lagu yang untuk beberapa tahun kemudian menjadikan sebagai kredo kami yang lain."

The song will often accompany us in the struggle for democracy in Indonesia, reduce the regime of corruption and authoritarianism, as well as in the struggles of other people. The corpse of Juang is a kredo to sacrifice what we have, for big dreams as an individual and a generation," explained Budiman Sudjatmiko who later became known as the founder of the Democratic People's Party (PRD) in the book Children's Revolution (2013).

The song "Blood of Juang" continues to be popular as Soeharto and the New Order government look ulcer. The collapse of the New Order government is increasingly undermined by the poor handling of the 1997-1998 economic crisis. The economic crisis made the life of the Indonesian people fall to its lowest level.

The New Order government has also begun to work together to reduce the impact of the economic crisis. It is far from wild. All kinds of tactics offered do not bring significant results. Problems arise. rampant corruption and handling criticism with repressive actions made the people hot.

Activists and students began to raise their voices and take to the streets against the New Order. The massive student action began from the beginning of 1998. The activity of expressing this opinion was a form of criticism of the government's inability to prosper the Indonesian people.

Seeing students taking to the streets is getting bigger. These actions then made my blood fighting as a trigger for fighting. The song was sung everywhere. The echo of the song "Blood of Juang" made students even more enthusiastic about bringing the ranks down Suharto and New Order.

In fact, when students were able to occupy the parliament building of the DPR/MPR in Jakarta. The song Blood Juang was sung continuously. Student struggle then reached its peak on May 21, 1998.

The leadership of Suharto for 32 years has been successfully removed by students. As a result, the song Kuhir Juang has a special place in the map of the struggle of the students.

"Based on the demonstration phenomenon, it is clear that the song Blood Juang is really aspirit which is represented in the form of movements or demonstrators, so that several other important things are recorded in the demonstration. Starting from student movements, women activists, community leaders, and several other demonstrators".

They took to the streets to express their attitude. An attitude will be in solidarity with injustice in implementing policies so that it has an impact on actions that are considered a time bomb and in the end this situation has made the militants of demonstrators formed," explained Nur Fadillah Yusuf in his writing in the Historia Journal entitled The Song Blood Fighting in the 1998(2023) Demonstration.