Party money keeps the 'dangdut' rolling<\/p>\n
M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
General elections used to be ludicrously dubbed pesta demokrasi
\n(festivals of democracy) to obscure the repressive nature of
\nSoeharto's 32-year rule, which came to an end in 1998.<\/p>\n
Like all good dictators, Soeharto blinded the public with the
\nrazzamatazz accompanying the carefully stage-managed elections,
\nbut prevented them from truly exercising their political rights.<\/p>\n
It was Soeharto's political vehicle, Golkar, that introduced
\ncampaign entertainment in the form of pop music and singers in
\nthe early years of the autocrat's rule.<\/p>\n
Five years after the fall of the regime little has changed in
\nthe way political parties go about their campaigning -- big on
\nentertainment, but completely lacking in political substance.<\/p>\n
During the 22-day campaign period until April 1, all the
\nparties offered entertainment and giveaways to attract the crowds
\nto their rallies.<\/p>\n
When an estimated 100,000 people attended a rally by the
\nIndonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the organizers
\nhad invited local rock bands Dewa and Jamrud to entertain them,
\nalong with scores of popular dangdut (local pop music) singers.<\/p>\n
Dewa was reportedly paid Rp 300 million (US$35,000) for the
\nPDI-P rally while dangdut singer Annisa Bahar, known for her
\nerotic gyrations, managed to pocket Rp 40 million. For relatively
\nobscure dangdut performers, the payout could range from between
\nRp 200,000 and Rp 1 million.<\/p>\n
Dangdut singer Merisa Bela said that she had fared a little
\nbetter than most lesser known artists -- above Rp 2 million per
\nshow, she said.<\/p>\n
The aspiring star said that she had signed a contract with the
\nGolkar Party to perform in the West Java towns of Cirebon and
\nIndramayu, as well as in the capital, Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"I'm singing for Golkar because they're paying me well. But
\nI'm ready to sing for any party that pays me,\" she said, adding
\nthat she used the campaign rallies to promote her new album.<\/p>\n
\"I usually sing in front of only around 5,000 people, but
\nduring the rallies I've been playing in front of crowds of
\nbetween 15,000 and 20,000 people. It's amazing,\" she said.<\/p>\n
She said that performing at the rallies had enabled her to
\nsing and dance in front of bigwigs, such as presidential
\naspirants Wiranto and Prabowo Subianto.<\/p>\n
Moreska Niman, the manager of a Tangerang-based dangdut
\noutfit, gave a different account.<\/p>\n
\"We were on stage more frequently as there were more parties
\ninviting us to their rallies, but they paid us less on the
\ngrounds that the length of time we performed for was shorter than
\nnormal due to all the speeches from the candidates,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Niman said that for a normal show, the six-strong group was
\npaid between Rp 5 million and Rp 6 million compared to only Rp 4
\nmillion at a campaign rally.<\/p>\n
Interviewed before the cooling off period, he said, \"We hope
\nthe campaign period is over so we can get back to regular
\nbusiness.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/party-money-keeps-the-dangdut-rolling-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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