Mega speakers for festivities in Indonesia trigger uproar, religious edict
Indonesia to celebrate events ranging from weddings to national holidays is increasingly drawing a chorus of public disapproval, even from religious leaders.
'Sound horeg' – from the Javanese word for 'vibrate' – is a type of street entertainment involving very loud music systems that has taken off in East and Central Java in recent years.
Ahead of Indonesia's August 17 Independence Day, officials and police are weighing between curbing bone-rattling speaker volumes and maintaining peace among residents who enjoy the rowdy spectacle.
In early August, a woman watching a sound horeg show in Lumajang Regency reportedly collapsed and died after complaining of dizziness. The cause of death remains unknown, but the incident has further fuelled debate over the entertainment that has grown steadily since it first began in the city of Malang in 2014.
Videos posted on social media show trucks rigged with speaker towers rolling through packed streets, pumping out bass-heavy beats capable of shaking nearby windows. Such loud volumes can damage hearing or cause other health problems, according to critics.
David Stefan, owner of Malang-based sound system rental company Blizzard Audio, told national broadcaster Metro TV that to date, there were around 1,200 businesses around Malang catering to the demand for sound horeg, 500 of which supplied 'large capacity' speakers.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
08-08-2025
- South China Morning Post
Mega speakers for festivities in Indonesia trigger uproar, religious edict
The practice of blasting towering speakers stacked on trucks and boats in Indonesia to celebrate events ranging from weddings to national holidays is increasingly drawing a chorus of public disapproval, even from religious leaders. 'Sound horeg' – from the Javanese word for 'vibrate' – is a type of street entertainment involving very loud music systems that has taken off in East and Central Java in recent years. Ahead of Indonesia's August 17 Independence Day, officials and police are weighing between curbing bone-rattling speaker volumes and maintaining peace among residents who enjoy the rowdy spectacle. In early August, a woman watching a sound horeg show in Lumajang Regency reportedly collapsed and died after complaining of dizziness. The cause of death remains unknown, but the incident has further fuelled debate over the entertainment that has grown steadily since it first began in the city of Malang in 2014. Videos posted on social media show trucks rigged with speaker towers rolling through packed streets, pumping out bass-heavy beats capable of shaking nearby windows. Such loud volumes can damage hearing or cause other health problems, according to critics. David Stefan, owner of Malang-based sound system rental company Blizzard Audio, told national broadcaster Metro TV that to date, there were around 1,200 businesses around Malang catering to the demand for sound horeg, 500 of which supplied 'large capacity' speakers.
South China Morning Post
04-08-2025
- South China Morning Post
Indonesians fly anime pirate flag in Independence Day protest
As Indonesia prepares to mark its 80th Independence Day, a new symbol of resistance has emerged – not from the pages of history, but from the world of Japanese anime. Advertisement Traditionally, the nation's red-and-white flag adorns homes, vehicles and public spaces in the lead-up to the national holiday. But this year, many Indonesians have chosen to raise The Jolly Roger pirate flag from the Japanese anime series One Piece in an act of defiance. The fictional skull-and-crossbones, topped with main character Monkey D. Luffy's signature straw hat, now decorates everything from doorways to flagpoles across the archipelago, according to the Jakarta Post newspaper, in a phenomenon that has unsettled government officials ahead of the country's most important civic celebration. A man in Indonesia holds a One Piece flag with an active volcano in the background. Photo: Facebook On social media, some Indonesians decided to explain the trend. 'The red-and-white flag is too sacred for us to raise right now, at a time when many people are still colonised by those in power,' one user posted on Thursday, calling the One Piece flag 'the spirit of resistance against injustice' that persists in the country.
South China Morning Post
14-07-2025
- South China Morning Post
Indonesian private island popular with Singaporeans offers idyllic setting for artists
When strolling through a beach resort, it is not often that you pass a sculptor chiselling driftwood or catch sight of a textile artist steeping fabric in a vat of dye. But such scenes are a daily occurrence on Nikoi Island in Indonesia. The private island resort about 50 miles (80km) away from Singapore in the Riau Archipelago not only welcomes tourists but also hosts Southeast Asian artists through its year-round Ubah Rumah Residency programme. 'There is an element of surprise when guests see someone who doesn't look like staff at work in the rumah [studio home],' says Ernest Goh, a Singaporean artist and co-artistic director of the programme. 'A lot of people stop in their tracks to watch.' A boat sculpture on Nikoi Island inspired by Southeast Asia's indigenous Orang Laut seafaring communities. Photo: Ubah Rumah Residency A popular weekend destination for Singapore residents, Nikoi is the epitome of barefoot luxury. The 15-hectare (37-acre) island, with its white sand and turquoise waters, has just 18 villas strung along its shoreline.
