Politicians may need to call up the spin doctors<\/p>\n
Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Amien Rais is no jazz-loving Bill Clinton. Nor is he current
\nDemocratic Party contender Wesley Clark, who appeared on MTV and
\nseemed pretty in tune with the contemporary music scene,
\nincluding mentioning hot pop group Outkast as his favorite.<\/p>\n
So it came as quite a surprise when the usually buttoned-down
\nspeaker of the People's Consultative Assembly and presidential
\ncandidate made a trip to the base of rock group Slank in Jl.
\nPotlot, South Jakarta, last November.<\/p>\n
He stood up and made the victory sign, professed to be a fan
\nof the wildly popular group and even went so far as to sing one
\nof their songs.<\/p>\n
A few weeks later, Amien popped up on an entertainment TV
\nshow, saying that the proliferation of gossip-filled programs was
\na good thing.<\/p>\n
What's going on?<\/p>\n
It may not be quite desperate times calling for desperate
\nmeasures, but, just as with Clinton and Clark making their
\ncarefully scripted appearances on MTV, it seemed that Amien was
\npart of a deliberate effort to get young voters on his side --
\nsomething he denied.<\/p>\n
The political landscape, once dominated by the almighty
\ngrouping of Golkar, has changed in recent years. Now, with the
\ndirect presidential election looming, it's individual
\npersonalities that will need to take center stage.<\/p>\n
There will be the legislative election on April 5 and the
\npresidential election on July 5. Twenty-four parties, compared to
\nfive in the 1999 general election, have been declared eligible.<\/p>\n
Many say the parties have yet to become professional. Some
\n7,000 legislative candidates, for instance, flunked the first
\nscreening from the General Elections Commission (KPU) recently as
\nthey did not meet administrative requirements.<\/p>\n
The opportunity presents itself for the image crafters and
\nspin doctors to work their magic.<\/p>\n
\"It is better (for political parties) to consult with PR
\nconsultants, because elections are practical public relations,
\nwhere the parties are selling something, they're distributing
\ntheir platforms and that needs marketing principles,\" said
\nMiranti Abidin, president director of Fortune PR.<\/p>\n
She is also the chairwoman of The Indonesian Women's Political
\nCaucus (KPPI) and a chairwoman of Amien's National Mandate Party
\n(PAN).<\/p>\n
A PR consultant helps to make a total communication strategy,
\nwhich ultimately provides clear positioning of the parties,
\nMiranti said.<\/p>\n
\"PR consultancy firms conduct research and (compile)
\nstatistics, so the result is accurate and the strategy is
\nefficient and effective. This is very important in the elections
\nbecause the political audience is very complex,\" she said.<\/p>\n
\"Our society is very unique. Therefore, we cannot just copy
\nanother country because the situation is very different.\"<\/p>\n
A deep understanding of mass psychology is needed, she added,
\nwhich has to be built up long before election day -- the
\nculmination of all the effort.<\/p>\n
But most politicians are not biting the PR line yet.<\/p>\n
PAN itself only consults with its own member pool instead of
\nusing PR consultants, and Miranti said that she was not involved
\nbecause she was focused instead on promoting the 30 percent quota
\nfor women in political parties.<\/p>\n
As with PAN, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-
\nP) also counts on its own members for public relations help.<\/p>\n
\"We don't yet see the need for that. We handle that ourselves
\nbecause we're the ones who best know what we need,\" said deputy
\nsecretary-general of PDI-P, Pramono Anung Wibowo.<\/p>\n
PDI-P uses ad agency Eckbert for its media campaign. Owned by
\nTriawan Munaf, the father of child singer Sherina, the agency has
\nproduced at least two TV commercials, showing PDI-P chairwoman
\nMegawati Soekarnoputri making Idul Fitri, Christmas and New
\nYear's greetings.<\/p>\n
Miranti said an ad agency does not have the expertise of a PR
\nconsultant in image building and it was not enough to rely on it
\nalone for a cohesive, well-rounded campaign.<\/p>\n
Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs
\nSusilo Bambang Yudhoyono, strongly tipped as a presidential
\ncandidate, reportedly recruited comedian Sys NS and actor Roy
\nMarten to handle public relations.<\/p>\n
Experience with media and being in the spotlight perhaps leads
\nto the assumption that entertainers are image-building experts.<\/p>\n
Sys NS, who is also an Assembly member, confirmed his
\ninvolvement, saying that while Susilo was yet to nominate
\nhimself, Sys was among those people in the team that supported
\nhis candidacy.<\/p>\n
\"We don't use a PR consultant, only people who are considered
\nSusilo's close allies,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The National Awakening Party (PKB) said it recognized the
\nimportance of PR but could not afford the service.<\/p>\n
Khofifah Indar Parawansa, a party chairwoman, said PR
\nproposals came from about 10 different groups.<\/p>\n
\"I really want our party to have a campaign manager because we
\ncannot handle it ourselves. We have been burdened with internal
\nproblems that led to us becoming less open minded. So, I think
\nwe'd better leave it to the experts. Unfortunately, we lack the
\nfinancial backup,\" said the former state minister of women's
\nempowerment.<\/p>\n
Miranti admitted that a professional PR consultant comes at a
\nprice, \"because they are paid hourly, and they handle the total
\ncommunication strategy\".<\/p>\n
In that case, it's no wonder that only wealthy Golkar can
\nafford the service.<\/p>\n
According to one of Golkar's chairmen, Theo Sambuaga, Golkar
\nhas been using the service since the 1999 elections, in which the
\nparty won the second-highest vote total, despite the lingering
\nconnection with the disgraced New Order government.<\/p>\n
\"We're now in the middle of choosing and will soon decide
\nwhich one or whom we will consult with,\" he said, mentioning
\nseasoned PR figures like Ida Sudoyo and Yanti Sugarda as
\ncontenders.<\/p>\n
PR consultants help, he said, but were not the most important
\nfactor in winning the election.<\/p>\n
\"We're very aware of the importance of image building. In this
\nera, we need a professional institution to help us do that.\"<\/p>\n
With party leader Akbar Tandjung still trying to put a
\nmultimillion dollar graft case behind him, Golkar certainly needs
\nsome help.<\/p>\n
It may be a tall order for even the best PR firm to perform
\nsuch a mountainous snow job. But at least they would be able to
\ncome up with a clear and effective strategy, instead of resorting
\nto the current wave of cringe-inducing glad-handing and baby
\nkissing photo ops.<\/p>",
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