Lampung Mayor candidates take aims at young voters<\/p>\n
Oyos Saroso H.N., The Jakarta Post, Bandarlampung<\/p>\n
After completing their national exams, a group of senior high
\nschool students were excited seeing someone bringing posters of
\nthe box office film The Matrix. They approached the stranger, who
\nwas seen distributing the posters to students, but on closer
\ninspection the students were rather surprised.<\/p>\n
All the outfits and backgrounds on the posters looked like the
\nMatrix films, but the heads of cool actors Keanu Reeves and
\nLawrence Fishburne had been replaced with headshots of
\nBandarlampung mayor and deputy mayor candidates, Irfan Nuranda
\nDjafar and Kuswandi. The poster proclaimed that \"the problems in
\nLampung are similar to The Matrix.\"<\/p>\n
Although some students expressed disappointment because they
\ndidn't get cool pictures of Keanu Reeves, they still grabbed the
\nposters anyway and took them home to put on their room walls.<\/p>\n
Dana E. Rachmat, a member of the Irfan-Kuswandi campaign team,
\nsaid that the poster was aimed at making a comparison of the
\nsituation in Bandarlampung and the setting in The Matrix, along
\nwith it's sequel The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions.<\/p>\n
The films tell the story of the struggle of Thomas Anderson
\n(Keanu Reeves), Trinity (Carrie Anne Moss) and Morpheus (Lawrence
\nFishburne) to free Earth residents from the threat of a machine
\nthat has taken power.<\/p>\n
The Earth's saviors have to fight hard to crush the machine in
\n72 hours, and if they fail, some 250,000 sentinels (machines
\nlooking like octopus) will break through the Zion and destroy
\nhumanity.<\/p>\n
\"The message is simple. Through the posters, we would like to
\nget the message across that Irfan and Kuswandi will work hard to
\nsave Bandarlampung from crime, moral decadence, poverty and
\nothers. We want to build an image that fits with the spirit of
\nyoungsters. The candidates are also young people who like
\nchallenges,\" said Dana.<\/p>\n
The poster distribution is part of Irfan-Kuswandi campaign
\nteam's efforts to lure young and first time voters to vote for
\nthem.<\/p>\n
The strategy is well worth pursuing, as of the 550,000
\neligible voters in Bandarlampung, 20 percent are first time
\nvoters.<\/p>\n
Besides distributing The Matrix poster, Irfan and Kuswandi
\nhave also actively approached youngsters through various avenues,
\nincluding music concerts. When they declared their participation
\nin the Bandarlampung election, they held a concert in Saburai
\nfield in Bandarlampung's downtown, featuring artist Yuke AFI.
\nYuke represents Bandarlampung in the Akademi Fantasi Indosiar
\n(AFI) contest in Jakarta, which is similar to the American Idol
\nseries. She is a magnet to charm Bandarlampung youngsters,
\nespecially city teenagers (Anak Baru Gede).<\/p>\n
Although they are very active in luring first time voters,
\nIrfan and Kuswandi have not been ignoring other segments of
\nvoters. Besides attracting young voters, the pair were also
\nattempting to entice rural and poor people by frequently visiting
\ntraditional markets and providing free medical treatment
\nsessions.<\/p>\n
Media observer Budi Santoso admitted that among the six pairs
\nrunning in the June 27 election, the Irfan-Kuswandi team was the
\nmost aggressive in approaching first time voters.<\/p>\n
\"Irfan is the youngest mayoral candidate and it is natural
\nthat he is aggressive in attracting first time and young voters.
\nThe competition is indeed tough as there are six pairs of
\ncandidates that will be competing in the election, but their
\nchance is quite good to win the battle,\" said Budi.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/lampung-mayor-candidates-take-aims-at-young-voters-1447893297",
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