Abdee Negara, a star with a guitar

Ruslan Sangadji

Making it as a star is not too hard as long as one has the will and talent for it.

Among those with such experience is Abdee Negara, now a guitarist with Slank, one of the leading rock bands in Indonesia.

His route to success took a winding path, though. Despite all the sweat, deprivation and almost desperation now and again, he managed to go through the trials with full confidence.

In 1997, Slank lost its guitarist, Pay. Abdee, born in Palu, Central Sulawesi, in 1968, ventured to replace him.

Slank got a boost in spirit with the entry of Abdee, the son of Andi Raden Lamarauna and Andi Cella. He was readily accepted as he was an exceptionally gifted guitar player.

With the passing years, Abdi -- as he is also called -- further demonstrated his quality and created a typical rock color for Slank. Besides, Abdee is known by his Slank peers as a pious artist.

"We have to shift our practice schedule while waiting for Abdee to finish his afternoon prayers," Budi Ace, chief editor of Koran Slank, told The Jakarta Post in Palu on December 23.

Owing to his piety, the management of television station TPI once asked Abdee to appear on a religious talk show during the fasting month. But he refused the offer in order not to benefit from his popularity for material gain.

"Materially, the program was promising because I would earn Rp 3 million per show. But I couldn't take it as I was not an ulema. Just provide an opportunity for young ulema to show up," said Abdee.

His refusal triggered a debate over whether religious values conveyed by public figures get easier public acceptance. Abdee again maintained that was where the problem lay. "Never say and convey anything that you yourself are not capable of doing properly," he humbly added.

"I don't like utilizing my popularity or my musical group's fame for nonmusical purposes," he went on.

"A strong, good life means being associated with quality, which is better than being inferior," he noted.

One of his attempts to achieve such an existence was the holding of a national program, the Jakarta Music Festival, which produced an album.
He also produced the second album, Seuriues, and finally earned the Best Roc