After Sukatani Withdraws Distribution of the Song "Pay Pay Pay"...

"I want to make a driver's license to pay the police,

Pay the police for a speeding ticket on the road

Big motorbike touring pays the police,

The public transportation wants to meet and pay the police,

Oh my, I don't have any money."

At first glance, there is nothing unusual about the lyrics of the song "Bayar Bayar Bayar" by the band Sukatani. The snippets of lyrics composed by the songwriter reflect the public's concerns about police officers who often violate regulations. Some people who hear the song feel represented because they have experienced it. However, for certain parties, the work is considered unsettling.

The peak was the emergence of a video of Sukatani's apology to the Police. This is what many people think is a phenomenon when freedom of expression is repressed.

Sukatani is a new wave punk band from Purbalingga formed in October 2022. From the beginning, they have been known for their lyrics highlighting social issues, agrarian matters, and injustices. Their debut album, *Gelap Gempita*, was released on July 24, 2023, and contains eight songs, including the track *Bayar Bayar Bayar*, which recently went viral.

After the song went viral on social media, the Sukatani band then apologized to the Chief of Police General (Pol) Listyo Sigit Prabowo and the Polri institution. The apology was conveyed by Sukatani musicians, namely Muhammad Syifa Al Ufti alias Electroguy and Novi Chitra Indriyaki alias Twister Angel, through a video uploaded to Instagram on Thursday (20/2/2025).

Ufti explained that the song was actually aimed at police officers who violated the rules, and not at the National Police institution as a whole. "We apologize profusely to the National Police Chief and the National Police institution for the song we wrote entitled 'Payar Bayar Bayar'," said Ufti.

He also explained, in order to avoid further polemics, Sukatani Band chose to withdraw the song from all digital platforms. In addition, Sukatani Band asked netizens to stop using and spreading the song.

“I urge all social media users who have our songs to delete and withdraw all videos. If there is a risk in the future it is not our responsibility. "Please immediately delete videos that use our song 'Payar Bayar Bayar'," said Ufti.

No one could explain why Sukatani suddenly apologized. Ufti admitted that there was no coercion behind his apology. "This statement that we made is true without any coercion from any party, from anyone, we made it consciously and voluntarily," said Ufti.

However, this statement actually made the public even more suspicious that there was pressure behind Sukatani's apology video.

What is clear is that National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo admitted that he had no problem with the song created by Sukatani. "There is no problem," he said, quoted from Kompas.com, Friday (2/21/2025).

He said there was a miscommunication regarding the things that led to the deletion of the song "Bayar, Bayar, Bayar" and Sukatani's apology to him.

Separately, Minister of Culture Fadli Zon said, always support freedom of expression. Any form of criticism that has a spirit of improvement also needs to be supported. However, he reminded that such freedom should not interfere with the rights and freedoms of other parties.

"For example, do not offend ethnicity, religion, race, inter-group. Yes, even (there are) institutions that can be harmed," said Fadli when met at the Presidential Palace, Jakarta, Friday (21/2/2025).

In the context of the Sukatani band, according to Fadli, the critical content in their songs mentions institutions. For him, this should not be done because it could be related to the institution as a whole. In fact, public dissatisfaction in the field is generally considered to occur due to the fault of only one actor.

"If you criticize people or perpetrators or individuals, I think there is no problem. But if it can bring the institution, then the one affected (is the institution). This is what could be a problem," said Fadli.

However, he admitted that he had not heard the Sukatani band's song that was widely discussed by the public in its entirety. He promised to study it soon.

Meanwhile, Lecturer of Critical Political Economy of Airlangga University, Surabaya, Airlangga Pribadi, said that the song "Bayar Bayar Bayar" from Sukatani Band is not just music. The song is a reflection of the community's unrest.

"The song is actually a piece of criticism that is part of everyday social phenomena," he said.

So, if there is a prohibition behind Sukatani's decision to withdraw the circulation of the song "Bayar Bayar Bayar", this is included in the violation of freedom of expression.

The criticism voiced in this song should be material for introspection for law enforcement officers so that they can better carry out their duties as public servants.

"The critical social model should be a means for the police to improve their service to the public, not by silencing them repressively," he said.

Many songs in Indonesia actually contain criticism of the government and were created according to the socio-political conditions of their time. In the New Order and reform era, the song "Bongkar" by Iwan Fals, became popular because it contains criticism of social injustice and the arbitrariness of the authorities.

Likewise, Iwan Fals' song entitled "Letter for People's Representatives" contains criticism of council members who prioritize personal interests over the community.

In the post-reformation era, several musicians, such as Slank, Navicula, and Superman is Dead also wrote songs with social content and were inspired by political events that occurred. The song "Di Udara" by Efek Rumah Kaca, for example, was deliberately created for the late Munir.

However, instead of accepting Sukatani's song as input, what happened was that it sparked concerns about freedom of expression in this country.

The Sukatani Band case is not the first to indicate restrictions on criticism of the government and freedom of expression in Indonesia. In the last five years, there have been a number of incidents that indicate restrictions on criticism of the government.

Amnesty International Indonesia recorded at least 60 cases of digital attacks and intimidation against organizations, activists, journalists, and academics throughout 2020-2021. These attacks included account hacking and the dissemination of personal information, aimed at silencing critical voices.

A prominent case, for example, is the criminal defamation lawsuit filed by Coordinating Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan against Haris Azhar and Fatia Maulidiyanti after the two criticized the government in a YouTube broadcast in August 2022.

Airlangga said that the emergence of silencing of freedom of expression will make Indonesia increasingly leave democracy and move towards a despotic government. "Citizens will be increasingly afraid to express their opinions and the country's journey will increasingly show the dominance of oppressive state apparatus and citizens will be increasingly marginalized from the process of open state participation," he said.

Amnesty International Indonesia Executive Director Usman Hamid also regretted the new incident of the withdrawal of artwork from public spaces. Without pressure, he said, it would be impossible for the Sukatani music group to make an apology video addressed to the Chief of Police and his staff.

"Amnesty urges the Chief of Police to immediately take corrective action on allegations of pressure in any form on the Sukatani music group," he said.

The police must reveal the parties suspected of pressuring Sukatani to make an apology video and withdraw the song "Bayar, Bayar, Bayar" from public spaces. The police must guarantee the freedom of every citizen to practice art and ensure that Sukatani is free from all forms of threats or intimidation in voicing social criticism through their works.

In the perspective of human rights, he continued, music is one of the important pillars for society in channeling their aspirations towards the reality they experience. This is because the right to art is an inseparable part of human rights. The right to freedom of expression through works of art, he reminded, is guaranteed in Article 19 of the Convention on Civil and Political Rights which was ratified through Law No. 12 of 2005 and in Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Art has become one of the public spaces that has recently become the target of repression and banning by the state. Last December, the withdrawal of artwork also occurred for the painting of Yos Suprapto. Then, a few days ago, the drama Interview with Mulyono was also banned from being staged.

"This shows how important art is as an expression of human rights and social criticism that can bring about change in society. Silencing art is the same as silencing human rights," said Usman Hamid.

He also reminded us that the police are tasked with protecting human rights, not being the ones to suppress the basic rights of citizens to enjoy and disseminate works of art.