President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s journey to the Norwegian capital for a two-day Climate and Forest Conference has inspired him to write a song, which he titled “Oslo.”
The composition, which tells of saving the world’s forests, was written by the president during his stay at Oslo’s Holmenkollen Park Rica Hotel, which is in hills ringed with trees.
During his final press briefing before coming home to Jakarta on Sunday, Yudhoyono announced his new creation and spontaneously asked for a guitar to demonstrate his vocal abilities.
“Unite world for our Earth, let’s do it, let us hold hands to look after it. Lift your hands and pray to God for the safety of our children and grandchildren,” the lyrics went.
Sadly, Yudhoyono asked for the performance to be off the record.
“Please, turn off [the camera] because [the song] is not done yet. It will reduce my royalty fees,” he said to laughter from the audience. He added that he was on the lookout for a singer who would be perfect for the song.
Yudhoyono has released three albums. The most recent, “Ku Yakin Sampai Di Sana” (“I’m Certain I’ll Get There”), was launched in January.
“The songs were written from a belief that nothing can change the fate of a country except the people themselves and the conviction of a noble purpose,” he said then.
He launched his first album, “Rinduku Padamu” (“I Miss You”), in October 2007. He followed up with “Evolusi” (“Evolution”) in January 2009.
More than 50 heads of state and environment ministers attended the Oslo conference, which opened on Wednesday.
Yudhoyono, along with Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, witnessed the signing of a letter of intent under which Indonesia and Norway will establish a partnership for Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation to tackle greenhouse-gas emissions from deforestation, forest degradation and peatland conversion.
Under the partnership, Norway will commit a total of $1 billion.
