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Lir Ilir, The Economic Melody for Development Sustainably

In the concept of sustainable development, it's not only focus on the environment issues.
More than all, the sustainable development includes three policies; they are economic growth,
social growth and the environmental maintenance. The economic growth is the increase in the
market value of the goods and services produced by an economy over time. It is conventionally
measured as the percent rate of increase in real gross domestic product, or real gross domestic
product. Of more importance is the growth of the ratio of GDP to population (GDP per capita),
which is also called per capita income. An increase in growth caused by more efficient use of inputs
is referred to as intensive growth. GDP growth caused only by increases in inputs such as capital,
population or territory is called extensive growth.1
Indonesia is a country which is rich in resources and cultures. This country is located on the equator
line and called as gemah ripah loh jinawi country, which means that this country is peace and
fertility in the eyes of international. It can be proven by many foreign tourists who come every day
to Indonesia just for wasting their holiday on Bali island, Raja Ampat island and many others. Even,
Cak Nun, Indonesian man of letters said in his part of poetry that, really, this country is a part of the
heaven! Heaven seemed ever to be leaked and splashed its richness and beauty, and this richness
and beauty splashed called Indonesia Raya. We are able to plant any seed of prosperity on its
incalculable fertility land in the middle of this green island which intimately coupled. But
unfortunately we are never ever being grateful for this piece of heaven. We misspent what God has
given to us by farming injustice and crops of greediness.
Really, how could this country survive and develop nation if we always plant the seeds of
injustice and greediness? In the international reports, we always find the "Economic Growth"
concept. This concept can be known as the growth of economic that can be caused by the economic
development. The economic growth means production capacity growth in the whole economic
matters of country.
The economic growth which is done by our country Indonesia includes all kinds of society,
either in the village or in the city by aim to improve the living standard of the society. So, if
Indonesian people still feel the unpeaceful and uncomfortable in their life due to the hunger and
poverty, this means that this is our responsibility to participate in improving the living standard of
Indonesian society.
The social development as the process of planned social change which is planned to improve
living standard of the society, where the development is done by completing economic growth
process one another.2 If the economic growth in Indonesia has run well and increased so rapidly,
well then the development of Indonesia will be no longer postponed, because this development is
constituted by three components namely economic growth, social development and environmental
maintenance. So, automatically, if living standard of the society has improved and their life has
been prosperous, so the environmental maintenance will also guarantee, and this is what called as
sustainable development of country.
Environmental maintenance which is really less done in Indonesia is due to the unprosperous
society. The appearance of unemployment caused them alienated in their life because they do not
have enough economic. Finally, illegal logging happened. Therefore, one thing to compose the
strategy for sustainable development of country is begun from economic growth.
But, strategy for implementing economy for sustainable development of country is not so
easy as when we turn our hand over by saying, "Sim Salabim, Abracadabra," well then everything
will change immediately? No, no and never. But everything needs process and supports from others
including government, society and of course, our selves.
Here, writer has a strategy which can be done by implementing Lir Ilir melody as its
concept. Concept is one of planned processes in carrying our aim. So, when we do something
1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_growth Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia, accessed at March 3, 2015.
2 Migley, James. 1995. Social Development: The Developmental Perspective in Social Welfare. London: Sage
Publications Ltd. Page. 25-31

without planning, then we will get nothing for what we are doing. We will be only tired and our
activity will be nonsense. So here, concept is needed in composing strategy for implementing
economy for sustainable development of country.
"Lir ilir.., lir ilir.., tandure woh sumilir, tak ijo royo-toyo tak sengguh kemanten anyar," 3
Sunan Kalijaga seemed to talk to us just a minute ago, about us, about everything we experience but
we are not able to understand. Since five centuries ago, he recited that poem and there is no
guarantee that now we have understood. Whereas his words spelled our life, Alfa, Beta, Alif, Ba, A,
B, and the confusion of our history from day to day, the history about the country where the top of
its destruction is located on its society who are not able to admit how this destruction has been
agonizing. "Get up from your dream!" he said. "Wake up from your beauty sleep and try to
understand the reality nowadays!" he added.
"Cah angon, cah angon, penekno blimbing kuwi, lunyu-lunyu penekno kanggo mbasuh dodot iro,"
(O shepherd, o shepherd, please climb that star fruit tree, although it is slippery, you have to climb it
and take the quintessence to wash your dress) Here, Sunan Kalijaga did not choose president,
government, poet, scholars or any other figure, but Cah Angon, the shepherd. He also told,
"Penekno blimbing kuwi," (please climb that star fruit tree!) not "Penekno sawo kuwi," (please
climb that sapodilla tree!) or "Penekno jeruk kuwi," (please climb that orange tree!) but "Penekno
blimbing kuwi," a fruit with its five corners. Whatever you say about the interpretation of five, but
what important is five principles. Here, writer recommends that five principles are called Pancasila,
the five principles of Indonesia. And the figure to climb is Cah Angon. Of course he can be a
governor, president, ministers, scholars, man of letters, or anything but he has to own the soul of
shepherd, which can depasture the ability to look after all side of society, character to embrace
every one of the one nationality, to create the line of peaceful and to give the love and affection
which can be accepted by all colors, all communities, all tendencies. Cah Angon is the national
leader, not the figure of group or community, or the head of that community.
As slippery as that reformation tree, Cah Angon should be able to climb safely to get the
fruits. It's not being cut or even knocked it down or being fought. Then its quintessence of that star
fruit is needed to clean and wash the clothes of this nation. Clothes are moral, clothes are the thing
that can differ human from animal. And clothes are the thing to make human to be human. And
clothes are the morality value. That is the thing which should be washed with five principles,
namely Pancasila.
If those principles have been completed, so I am sure that 99,99% the sufficient economy
implementation can be implemented for sustainable development of this country well. And all of
that is not begun from them, but it is begun from our selves. We have to change the economics of
Indonesia so as to be able to make the sustainable development for this country. It will be useless
when we have great planning for implementing sufficient economy for sustainable development of
country, but our society does not have any intention and soul of being progress.
Therefore, society has an important role to develop our country sustainably by firstly
implementing Lir ilir melody. The destruction of this country is caused due to the unconsciousness
of our society about this destruction. The case of Century Bank, Gayus Tambunan, and many other
cases are not completed, then slow but sure, it disappeared. They only accentuate their selves, and
they do not think about society, they cannot depasture all kinds of society when they became a
leader, and finally corruption is no longer inevitable. Corruption is the thing which can destroy the
economics of country.
So, by all explanation above, we can conclude that the strategy to implement sufficient
economy is to make aware the society about economy itself and its source of destruction. And one
process before implementing sufficient economy is to implement lir ilir melody to our society for
repairing our society at first, and then everything will be easy to do when all has awareness about
economy.

3 Sunan Kalijaga poem in Javanese which was recited back by Cak Nun (Emha Ainun Najib) in his part of poetry.

Written By: M. Fakri Islami Arif


PAI Semester 6,
FTK UIN Sunan Ampel

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