Staying At The Toba Music Maestro's House, Nadiem Makarim Praised By Warganet: Horas! We Select The Representative, Reward

Minister of Education and Culture, Research and Technology Nadiem Anwar Makarim in dialogue with cultural maestro in Samosir Regency, North Sumatra (Photo HO BKHM Kemendikbudristek)

JAKARTA - A face full of emotion immediately radiated from Martahan Sihotang. The music 'laboratory' belonging to Batak cultural activists in Harian District, Samosir Regency was visited directly by the Minister of Education, Culture, Research and Technology (Mendikbudristek), Nadiem Makarim.

Martahan immediately stopped when he opened the door to his laboratory. His hands clasped in front of his chest. His eyes filled with tears as he saw the figure of Nadiem who was standing behind the musical instrument he had made.

"Thank God," said Martahan briefly while shedding tears.

Nadiem rushed over to Martahan and hugged him. His smiling face was happy to meet one of the maestro who performed at the Indonesian Traditional Music Festival (FMTI) in Samosir.

"The studio is amazing, can I stay overnight, may I?" asked Nadiam. "Yes," replied Martahan slowly.

"Don't cry, I'll cry too," replied Nadiem.

This touching and proud moment for Martahan was shared by Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) activist Mohamad Guntur Romli on his Twitter account, @GunRomli, Friday, October 29.

The touching moments when Mas Minister @nadiemmakarim gave a surprise to Martahan Sihotang, the maestro of Batak music, visited & stayed at his house.... pic.twitter.com/m4Asqt9r0h

— Mohamad Guntur Romli (@GunRomli) October 28, 2021

"The touching moments when Mas Minister @nadiemmakarim gave a surprise to Martahan Sihotang (Sitohan, after being revised by Guntur Romli), the Batak music maestro, visited & stayed at his house..." tweeted Gun Romli. This 1 minute video has been watched by thousands of Twitter residents and liked by more than 300 accounts.

"God bless the sincerity of Mr. @nadiemmamakarim. Always be healthy and keep being a light for others," replied the account @Ester****

"It's great, there is no distance between officials and the people, Horas." said @Muhamma****

"We are selecting for his deputy, Mr. @ganjarpranowo in 2024, 2024 the leader must come down and feel the fragrance of the people's sweat," tweeted @Rasanusa_****

Nadiem during the visit had many discussions with Martahan. Not only that, he also learned how to play the Taganing musical instrument and several other traditional Batak musical instruments. Nadiem said the rhythm of traditional Batak music is thick with sacred nuances.

"It's really amazing," said Nadiem.

Nadiem visited Samosir Regency to attend the 2021 Indonesian Traditional Music Festival series of events, which were held in Lake Toba, Labuan Bajo, and Tidore.

He stated that the intergenerational collaboration in the Indonesian-Lake Toba Traditional Music Festival is part of an effort to promote culture.

“We have seen for ourselves that by collaborating we are able to move together to advance culture. Let's create a happy Indonesia with cultural independence," said Nadiem, as quoted by Antara.

Director General of Culture of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Hilmar Farid said, the 2021 Indonesia-Lake Toba Traditional Music Festival focuses on the issue of generational transfer in an effort to preserve culture.

"The important message from this activity is generation transfer. So there is a regeneration of traditional music. We are certainly happy that many young people who are still in junior high and high school have joined the work. We hope this activity can instill a new spirit among young people to get to know traditional music," he said.