Vote-getters not needed, political scholars say<\/p>\n
SEMARANG (JP): Political scholars said yesterday that the
\nrecruitment of celebrities as vote-getters in next year's general
\nelection is an outdated trick to attract voters.<\/p>\n
They said that vote-getters are effective only in uneducated
\ncommunities because on campuses and in the cities people know
\nthey need politicians who can really defend their interests.<\/p>\n
Riswandha Imawan, a political scholar from Gadjah Mada
\nUniversity, said that the use of vote-getters is a trick that
\ntends to deceive the public.<\/p>\n
The idea of recruiting vote-getters, he said, is to have
\ncelebrities use their popularity rather than their political
\nskill to attract as many people as possible to vote for the party
\nthey represent.<\/p>\n
\"Political studies should stop using vote-getters because it
\nassumes that people do not have enough of a grasp of the
\npolitical games in Indonesia,\" Riswandha said.<\/p>\n
\"As Indonesians are increasingly educated, the vote-getting
\nsystem should be stopped,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The three political organizations: Golkar, the United
\nDevelopment Party (PPP) and the Indonesian Democratic Party
\n(PDI), will compete for 425 seats in the House of Representatives
\nin next year's general election.<\/p>\n
While the PDI and PPP do not have well-known figures in their
\nfront lines, Golkar made headlines for recruiting king of dangdut
\nmusic Rhoma Irama, soap opera star Rano Karno and shadow puppet
\nmaster Ki Anom Suroto -- to name a few -- to attract voters.<\/p>\n
Golkar hopes to increase its domination in the House from its
\ncurrent 282 seats to at least 299. It wants to recapture the 16
\nseats it lost to the PDI and one to the PPP in the 1992 election.<\/p>\n
Golkar has promised the much coveted seats to the popular
\npersonalities.<\/p>\n
\"Educated people will certainly ask why political
\norganizations put celebrities higher on their list of prospective
\nHouse members than professional politicians,\" said political
\nobserver Susilo Utomo from Diponegoro University.<\/p>\n
\"If it later turns out that the celebrities fail to defend the
\npublic's interests as they promise during election campaigns,
\npeople will feel cheated,\" he added.<\/p>\n
MT Arifin, rector of Surakarta Muhammadiyah University, has
\nproposed that political organizations stop recruiting vote-
\ngetters because their political ability is questionable.<\/p>\n
He argued that those representing the people in the House
\nshould be people who are well-versed in politics and have the
\ncourage to defend average people, not just their peers.<\/p>\n
\"The vote-getting system should be stopped if Indonesia wants
\nto see democracy flourish,\" he said. (har\/pan)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/vote-getters-not-needed-political-scholars-say-1447893297",
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