Rony Marton’s 13. komnata TV show filmed on VŠE dormitories

The singer from Indonesia, made famous by the hit Hastrmane tatrmane, did not agree with the military dictatorship in his home country and for 35 years he could not even visit his home. Martina Hynková Vrbová accompanies his story about building life in a country with a different culture.

Rony M, real name Jaroni Surjomartono, grew up on the Indonesian island of Java. At the age of twenty, in 1963, he flew to Prague, where he joined the University of Economics after a Czech language course. He imagined that he would return to his homeland after graduation. In Indonesia, however, in the mid-1960s, General Suharto came to power and established a military dictatorship. Jaroni Surjomartono refused to sign allegiance to the new regime, so he could no longer return to Indonesia, as did about half of the then two hundred Indonesian students in Czechoslovakia. They were lucky that Czechoslovakia offered them help and they could stay. Surjomartono managed to get married before graduation (his wife is from Moravia) and stayed in Prague, where they had two daughters and a son. He devoted himself to music at home, in Prague he started singing in a group founded by Indonesian students. He drew attention to himself by winning the competition We Are Looking for New Talents in 1971. After meeting Petr Hannig, he moved towards the mainstream and gained popularity under the stage name Rony Marton. The song by Zdeněk Merta Hastrman, tatrmane became a big hit in 1973. His musical career as a pop music singer culminated in the mid-1970s. At the same time, however, Rony preferred a field that he studied and worked as an economics engineer until his retirement. He rarely appeared in public as a singer. At present, he only sings at charity events and at home for fun. Not caring for the communist country’s passport, he did not apply for a new citizenship until November 1989. However, he was not able to meet his relatives and friends in his native Indonesia until after the fall of the Suharto regime in 1998. He returns there to this day, but only as a visitor.

TV show Rony Marton’s 13.komnata  was created on the VŠE dormitories and broadcast by ČT1 on Friday, March 26, 2021 at 9:10 p.m.