Business ups and downs during campaigning<\/p>\n
By Joko Sarwono and Tanra Alam<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Bogor is about 60 kilometers south of here. Its
\nnotorious traffic jams are a fact of life for many of its
\nresidents. And it has got even worse during the party campaigns.<\/p>\n
\"On normal days, I could make eight routes in half a day. Now
\nI can only make four,\" said Parmin. He is a driver of a public
\nminivan (angkot) plying the Salabenda-Pasar Anyar route.<\/p>\n
His income has reduced substantially -- from Rp 15,000
\n(US$1.90) to Rp 5,000 per half day.<\/p>\n
\"When (campaign organizers) start playing dangdut songs, all
\nthe party supporters start jumping in the street and dance like
\ncrazy ... causing congestion on Jl. Baru-Cimanggu,\" he
\ncomplained.<\/p>\n
The drop in income is also a result of fewer passengers.<\/p>\n
\"School children are currently on holiday, while others prefer
\nto hang around on the streets, watching campaign parades,\" Parmin
\nsaid, adding that this was why drivers preferred to stay home
\nduring the campaign season.<\/p>\n
However, Parmin said he still valued his meager income, as the
\nowner of his vehicle only required him to make a daily deposit of
\nRp 24,000.<\/p>\n
\"I just can't imagine (the pressures on) other fellow drivers
\nwho are required to make a daily deposit of Rp 30,000 to Rp
\n33,000. How do they do it?\"<\/p>\n
Another driver is Widodo, who plies the intercity Bogor-
\nTangerang route.<\/p>\n
\"The fewest passengers on normal days is the highest number of
\npassengers during the campaign days,\" Widodo said, adding he
\nusually earns Rp 50,000 a day.<\/p>\n
\"Now, I'm lucky to get Rp 30,000 a day. Most of the time, I
\njust break even.\"<\/p>\n
During the campaigns -- to officially end on June 4 -- drivers
\nlike Widodo and Parmin face a dilemma.<\/p>\n
If they go to work, they risk being trapped in traffic and
\ncome home exhausted; if they don't, they would surely starve
\ntheir families.<\/p>\n
\"Eventually, I just have to go, hoping every time that I can
\nmake more money,\" Widodo said.<\/p>\n
Many two-wheel buggy operators in Bogor's Botanical Garden
\nalso complained of their reduced incomes.<\/p>\n
One of them, Indra, said he could only earn Rp 15,000 a day --
\ndown from Rp 30,000.<\/p>\n
Out of his daily income, Rp 12,500 is allocated for buying
\nhorse food -- consisting of paddy husk powder (dedak), grass and
\ncorn.<\/p>\n
\"I just want the campaigning to be over soon, so business can
\ngo back to normal.\"<\/p>\n
City residents also have to their own worries about the June 7
\npolls.<\/p>\n
Lilis, a housewife, vowed she would not join Golkar Party
\ncampaigns anymore.<\/p>\n
When she recently returned on a bus from one of the party's
\nrallies, another party's supporters tried to stop the bus, and
\nbanged on its sides shouting: \"Strip her!\"<\/p>\n
\"I am really distressed,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Pre-campaign activities of Golkar in other areas have also
\nbeen marked by the harassment of Golkar supporters, with many
\nclaiming they were forced to remove their party uniforms.<\/p>\n
In Palu, Central Sulawesi, 108 two-wheel buggy operators --
\nlocally known as mangge -- held high hopes when they were hired
\nto bolster the joint parade of political parties on May 18.<\/p>\n
However, they did not receive their promised payment of Rp
\n25,000 each and have been shunted from one office to another.<\/p>\n
A day after the parade, one of the drivers, Rusli, 59, went to
\nan office of the party whose logo decorated his buggy.<\/p>\n
Local party officials said payment was the responsibility of
\nthe mayoralty office.<\/p>\n
There, Rusli was told that payment had already been made to
\nthe Palu's Traditional Public Transport Organization (Organtra).
\nExhausted with the run around, he went to the regency elections
\ncommittee (PPD II) for help.<\/p>\n
He waited for three hours after the official at PPD II ordered
\nOrgantra chairman Toto Kadjo be summoned.<\/p>\n
\"During the campaign yesterday I was so happy. But this
\nmorning I cried. I went to three offices to claim my rights. I
\nwaited for three hours here,\" he told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Toto eventually arrived and met with Rusli and other drivers.
\nHe said the buggy operators could only receive Rp 20,000 each, as
\nthe remainder of the promised sum had been spent on operational
\nrequirements.<\/p>\n
Full payment was eventually made, but only after sustained
\npressure from Rusli and his fellow drivers.<\/p>\n
Profits<\/p>\n
While drivers are grumbling, vendors are smiling, as evident
\nfrom the multitude of sidewalk stalls stacked with all kinds of
\nparty merchandise.<\/p>\n
\"Party attributes, like those of the National Mandate Party
\n(PAN), the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI
\nPerjuangan) and the United Development Party (PPP) are selling
\nlike hotcakes,\" Andi, a Bogor vendor in Warung Jambu area said.<\/p>\n
He said he could bring home up to Rp 100,000 a day.<\/p>\n
\"After the campaign season, I am thinking about taking a
\nholiday to refresh myself ... it's quite distressing selling
\nthese things on the road side.\"<\/p>\n
Sukron, a motor cycle workshop owner, also said his business
\nhad experienced a windfall. \"At first, all I thought was about
\nriots\" ahead of the campaigns, he said.<\/p>\n
However, due to the large number of people needing their
\nvehicles fixed before and during the campaigns, he was earning up
\nto Rp 100,000 per day.<\/p>",
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