Allow money politics

Allow money politics

From Bisnis Indonesia

On July 5, eligible Indonesians exercised their right to vote for their next president and vice president. If you asked who was the winner of the presidential election, the answer would be the media. During the election campaign, the campaign teams of the five presidential candidates spent huge amounts of money on political ads in the mass media.

Now that we have adopted a system of direct presidential elections, I suggest that money politics be allowed during the campaign period. Presidential candidates should be allowed to distribute cash or consumer goods to prospective voters.

It must be remembered that Indonesians are no longer ignorant or naive. Only a small percentage of people will vote for a presidential candidate simply because they received something from that candidate.

AHMAD RIZALI

Jakarta