09

Thanks to the algorithm of Facebook and the proximity of Indonesia to Malaysia, news of Vidi Aldiano’s passing and corresponding tributes have been flooding my feed. So as someone within his age group, naturally, I’d gravitate towards looking up his work, in particular, his songs.

One song, “Nuansa Bening”, stood out – although, understandably it’s a cover version, and had been the reason for controversy. Vidi Aldiano, born Oxavia Aldiano has said that his influences include Luther Vandross and Craig David. “Nuansa Bening” was originally composed and written by Keenan Nasution and Rudi Pekerti for the ears and vocals of the 1970s.

As Vidi Aldiano wanted to have his take on the classic Indonesian love song, fellow Indonesian rapper and record producer J Flow was also part of the more upbeat version, suited for the much younger generation with their own tastes and preferences. The rendition was released in 2008 as part of Vidi Aldiano’s debut album “Pelangi di Malam Hari”.

It takes skill for one to have a song that’s not only monolingual – with the rapping in mainly English. While English and Malay/Indonesian are syllable-based or berpandukan suku kata, they differ in terms of word stress and there are no conjugations or tenses – in place of these tenses, Malay/Indonesian has time markers. There are fewer vowel sounds in Malay/Indonesian, but more affixes to help with verb formation. If you appreciate poetry or one for being poetic (as a similar structure is employed in songs), this one’s for you.

“Akan kukembangkan kasih yang kau tanam

Di dalam hatiku”

---

“Ku terdiam dan hanya bisa bla bla bla
Like a shooting star, I
Make a wish like la la la”

Vidi Aldiano’s family was mainly musical, with his mother being a piano teacher and his younger siblings being a singer and a jazz musician. Vidi combined his own exposure, entrepreneurship knowledge from his postgrad days at University of Manchester and input from the Berklee College of Music Summer Programme to build his own recording company.

A bookworm, Vidi would spend time in the library instead of going for school recess period as allocated. As a result, he had a small circle of friends.

Vidi was diagnosed with kidney cancer or stage three renal cell carcinoma in 2019 and had been seeking treatment in Singapore, Malaysia’s Penang, and Thailand. At one point, he even sought acupuncture. After experiencing several significant side effects, he decided to wean himself off chemotherapy. On 7 March, 2026, weeks before his 36th birthday, Vidi passed away, after a six-year battle.

It seems his partner knew very well that Vidi might not have much time on Earth. Even then, she went on to marry him – even if he could not give them the life many would have wanted. He is linked to an Indonesian singer-actress.

Note: Malay and Indonesian have the same roots. However, the accent is different. The two also differ in terms of colonial influence. So, you can usually handle Standard Indonesian if you have a good grasp of Malay. However, there are also notable differences in the terms used. Besides, if spoken colloquially or in regional dialects, this would not exactly be ear-friendly to most Malaysians, unless the Malaysians have been surrounded by Indonesian friends, neighbours, or colleagues for an extended period.  

Unfortunately, due to the increasing availability of Indonesian media, especially on on-demand streaming platforms, many from the younger generation(s) have been easily influenced to not only speak in an Indonesian accent, but also to spell and write in that manner, which has been the bane of many Bahasa Melayu/Bahasa Malaysia teachers in Malaysia.