Internet fails to woo most political parties<\/p>\n
By M.M.I. Ahyani<\/p>\n
BANDUNG (JP): Adrie Harsala, 32, a computer head who enjoys
\nsurfing the Internet, is frustrated with the way the election
\ncampaigns have been carried out.<\/p>\n
As parades of followers of political parties cause traffic
\ncongestion, he has become increasingly reluctant to find out more
\nabout the 48 parties contesting the June 7 elections.<\/p>\n
\"If you wish to attend a party campaign at an enclosed site,
\nyou must be ready to go through traffic jams on your way to the
\ncampaign site and then on your way home,\" he said. \"As for the
\ncampaigns on TV, these are pretty boring.\"<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, Harsala, a computer programmer by profession, is
\nstill keen on satisfying his curiosity about background
\ninformation on the 48 political parties taking part in the
\nupcoming elections.<\/p>\n
So, he thought, why not the Internet?<\/p>\n
However, he is disappointed, as not all parties have made use
\nof the virtual world to promote themselves.<\/p>\n
From surfing the Internet, he has found the profile of only
\nnine political parties on their respective homepages.<\/p>\n
\"Well, the profiles are not interesting at all. It is just
\nlike reading a leaflet or a pamphlet. A newspaper is better, as
\nmore details are provided.\"<\/p>\n
The director of PT Elga Yasa Media, Didi Apriadi, one of the
\nInternet service providers, acknowledged a lack of interest on
\nthe part of political parties to make use of the Internet as a
\ncampaign tool.<\/p>\n
\"Once, I addressed a seminar on political party campaigning
\nand found that most of the party figures attending the seminar
\ndid not think the Internet an effective means of campaigning,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Understandably, therefore, only a few parties have established
\nofficial websites or homepages. As for other information about
\nparties on the Internet, the political parties concerned must
\nexpress their gratitude to the General Elections Commission
\n(KPU), nongovernmental organizations active in voter education
\nand the media for the trouble they have taken to provide this
\ninformation.<\/p>\n
Mass media publications such as Pikiran Rakyat in Bandung and
\nDetik.Com have profiled the 48 political parties free of charge
\non their sites.<\/p>\n
Through the yahoo.com search engine, The Jakarta Post has
\nsuccessfully traced eight parties, the websites of which are
\navailable on the Internet. They are:<\/p>\n
* The National Mandate Party (PAN) (http:\/\/www.amanat.org)<\/p>\n
* The Justice Party (PK) (http:\/\/www.keadilan.or.id)<\/p>\n
* The National Awakening Party (PKB) (http:\/\/www.pkb.ord)<\/p>\n
* The Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI)
\n(http:\/\/www.banteng.org),<\/p>\n
* The United Development Party (PPP) (http:\/\/www.ppp.or.id)<\/p>\n
* The Golkar Party (http:\/\/www.golkar.net)<\/p>\n
* The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan)
\n(http:\/\/www.pdiperjuangan.org)<\/p>\n
* The Democratic People's Party (PRD)
\n(http:\/\/www.peg.apc.org\/~stan\/asiet\/whatis\/prd.htm).<\/p>\n
The Peace Loving Party has recently advertised its website in
\nthe newspaper at URL (http:\/\/www.cintadamai.org).<\/p>\n
Although the websites of other parties are yet to be traced,
\ncomprehensive information about all parties is available at this
\nwebsite: http:\/\/www.detik.com, the website of the General
\nElections Commission (KPU) and that of the Indonesian Elections
\nCommittee (PPI).<\/p>\n
Enthusiasm<\/p>\n
Political parties' lack of enthusiasm for the Net may be
\nattributable to the assumption that it is not an effective means
\nfor political campaigning, and\/or that it is expensive to
\nestablish a website.<\/p>\n
\"In fact, there are also free services on the Internet,\" said
\nDidi.<\/p>\n
\"Just get the materials ready, design the campaign yourself
\nand then host it somewhere. My company can prepare this campaign
\nfor Rp 50,000 only. But, of course, the quality depends on the
\nprice,\" said Didi, a deputy chairman of the Indonesian
\nAssociation of Internet Providers.<\/p>\n
He admitted that Indonesian Internet users were still limited.<\/p>\n
\"Those subscribing to Internet providers number about 200,000
\npeople. Then some companies have their own Internet network.
\nDon't forget, though, the Internet accessible to one house may be
\nsurfed by several members of the family. So, at least, they can
\nalso be influenced by what they find on the Internet.\"<\/p>\n
It is projected that Internet users in Indonesia will grow by
\n1 million people a year.<\/p>\n
\"Just imagine the number of Internet surfers in Indonesia in
\nthe next five years.<\/p>\n
\"Besides, most of these people are educated and professionals
\ngenerally hard pressed with time. These people won't have time to
\nfollow the street parades of political parties.<\/p>\n
They may learn something about a political party from the
\nnewspapers or other mass media publications they happen to read
\nand also from the Internet.\"<\/p>\n
Superior features of the Net as a medium of communication and
\ninformation are that its data can be updated any time, it enables
\nglobal access and it is speedy and cheap.<\/p>\n
The problem is that much of the information presented is very
\ndull.<\/p>\n
Of all the websites established by Indonesian political
\nparties, Golkar's homepage is the most appealing in terms of
\ndesign and materials available.<\/p>\n
\"As for the websites of other parties, they present only the
\naddress of the party chairman, the biography of their
\npresidential nominee and the proceedings of party meetings or
\nparty statements. Well, all that can actually be found in
\nnewspapers,\" Harsala said.<\/p>\n
Boring<\/p>\n
An Internet expert from Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB),
\nDr. Onno W. Purbo, told the Post he had also tried to see a tap
\ninto party sites on the Internet.<\/p>\n
\"Rather boring. An Internet user would not like to surf these
\nparty websites. (They will be) wasting time and money, while they
\nreceive only a little information. It is all right with me,
\nbecause I can surf from my campus,\" he said.<\/p>\n
In his opinion, a better medium for political parties to carry
\nout Internet campaigns was via a mailing list. \"I don't think
\nparty cadres make use of this mailing list medium. A mailing list
\nis interactive in nature, so a party cadre may be targeted all
\nthe time by other users.\"<\/p>\n
Purbo blamed the misperception that \"promotion on the Internet
\nis different from promotion in conventional media, such as
\nnewspapers, the radio or the television.<\/p>\n
\"The Internet is a two-way medium, so it must be interactive.
\nTherefore, through the Internet a party may mobilize the masses,
\nhold discussions or simply get feedback from the community.\"<\/p>\n
Purbo argued that promotion via a website was just like a
\ncampaign monologue.<\/p>\n
\"If anybody at all is willing to see what we have on our
\nhomepage, we should thank God already.<\/p>\n
\"If the material is just like what we have now, I am sure few
\nwill be willing to read it. If you put it on a mailing list, then
\nthere will be two-way communication, a sort of a dialog.\"<\/p>\n
Purbo agreed with Harsala that the Internet was a low-cost
\nmedium for campaigning, especially considering its global scope.<\/p>\n
\"If one is smart enough to find a site for a chat, then it
\nwill spread far and wide, just like Indo-News, ITB-Net or SiaR,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
Political parties must also be wise when preparing campaign
\nmaterials, he said.<\/p>\n
\"The longer people use the Internet, the more they expect to
\nfind constructive materials. They would no longer be interested
\nin condemnation, rumors and slander. To them, these will be a
\nwaste of time and money.<\/p>\n
\"Take ... the student (activists) at Salman (Mosque) at the
\nITB, for example. They have set up the Effective Technology
\nCenter, established networks at pesantren (Islamic boarding
\nschools) and so on. This is constructive.\"<\/p>\n
Purbo was enthusiastic about this constructive component of
\nthe Internet. \"It is a good idea for the community to make use of
\nthe Internet to convey their thoughts to the People's
\nConsultative Assembly\/House of People's Representatives
\n(MPR\/DPR), in order that they may not come face to face with
\ntroops.\"<\/p>\n
He urged people to think of the possibilities of using the
\nInternet for radio or TV networks. \"Then you could hold a talk
\nshow and your listeners would be both in Indonesia and in the
\nrest of the world.<\/p>\n
\"A conventional radio may be connected through the Internet
\nand for the feedback E-mail, facsimile, chat line, the telephone
\nand so forth may be used. Connect them again to be on air. Just
\nimagine if you go on air like this, everybody can hear the
\nfeedback from just anywhere.\"<\/p>\n
Purbo argued that by using these methods, pressure could
\ncontinue to be applied to legislators, so that they would always
\nvoice the aspirations of the people.<\/p>\n
\"The basic idea is simple, namely to make it easier for the
\ncommunity to speak up. Not like before: you sent a letter and
\nthen the letter got dumped somewhere. No bureaucracy will be
\nneeded. Both sides will get the benefits.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/internet-fails-to-woo-most-political-parties-1447893297",
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