Business ups and downs during campaigning

Business ups and downs during campaigning

By Joko Sarwono and Tanra Alam

JAKARTA (JP): Bogor is about 60 kilometers south of here. Its
notorious traffic jams are a fact of life for many of its
residents. And it has got even worse during the party campaigns.

"On normal days, I could make eight routes in half a day. Now
I can only make four," said Parmin. He is a driver of a public
minivan (angkot) plying the Salabenda-Pasar Anyar route.

His income has reduced substantially -- from Rp 15,000
(US$1.90) to Rp 5,000 per half day.

"When (campaign organizers) start playing dangdut songs, all
the party supporters start jumping in the street and dance like
crazy ... causing congestion on Jl. Baru-Cimanggu," he
complained.

The drop in income is also a result of fewer passengers.

"School children are currently on holiday, while others prefer
to hang around on the streets, watching campaign parades," Parmin
said, adding that this was why drivers preferred to stay home
during the campaign season.

However, Parmin said he still valued his meager income, as the
owner of his vehicle only required him to make a daily deposit of
Rp 24,000.

"I just can't imagine (the pressures on) other fellow drivers
who are required to make a daily deposit of Rp 30,000 to Rp
33,000. How do they do it?"

Another driver is Widodo, who plies the intercity Bogor-
Tangerang route.

"The fewest passengers on normal days is the highest number of
passengers during the campaign days," Widodo said, adding he
usually earns Rp 50,000 a day.

"Now, I'm lucky to get Rp 30,000 a day. Most of the time, I
just break even."

During the campaigns -- to officially end on June 4 -- drivers
like Widodo and Parmin face a dilemma.

If they go to work, they risk being trapped in traffic and
come home exhausted; if they don't, they would surely starve
their families.

"Eventually, I just have to go, hoping every time that I can
make more money," Widodo said.

Many two-wheel buggy operators in Bogor's Botanical Garden
also complained of their reduced incomes.

One of them, Indra, said he could only earn Rp 15,000 a day --
down from Rp 30,000.

Out of his daily income, Rp 12,500 is allocated for buying
horse food -- consisting of paddy husk powder (dedak), grass and
corn.

"I just want the campaigning to be over soon, so business can
go back to normal."

City residents also have to their own worries about the June 7
polls.

Lilis, a housewife, vowed she would not join Golkar Party
campaigns anymore.

When she recently returned on a bus from one of the party's
rallies, another party's supporters tried to stop the bus, and
banged on its sides shouting: "Strip her!"

"I am really distressed," she said.

Pre-campaign activities of Golkar in other areas have also
been marked by the harassment of Golkar supporters, with many
claiming they were forced to remove their party uniforms.

In Palu, Central Sulawesi, 108 two-wheel buggy operators --
locally known as mangge -- held high hopes when they were hired
to bolster the joint parade of political parties on May 18.

However, they did not receive their promised payment of Rp
25,000 each and have been shunted from one office to another.

A day after the parade, one of the drivers, Rusli, 59, went to
an office of the party whose logo decorated his buggy.

Local party officials said payment was the responsibility of
the mayoralty office.

There, Rusli was told that payment had already been made to
the Palu's Traditional Public Transport Organization (Organtra).
Exhausted with the run around, he went to the regency elections
committee (PPD II) for help.

He waited for three hours after the official at PPD II ordered
Organtra chairman Toto Kadjo be summoned.

"During the campaign yesterday I was so happy. But this
morning I cried. I went to three offices to claim my rights. I
waited for three hours here," he told The Jakarta Post.

Toto eventually arrived and met with Rusli and other drivers.
He said the buggy operators could only receive Rp 20,000 each, as
the remainder of the promised sum had been spent on operational
requirements.

Full payment was eventually made, but only after sustained
pressure from Rusli and his fellow drivers.

Profits

While drivers are grumbling, vendors are smiling, as evident
from the multitude of sidewalk stalls stacked with all kinds of
party merchandise.

"Party attributes, like those of the National Mandate Party
(PAN), the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI
Perjuangan) and the United Development Party (PPP) are selling
like hotcakes," Andi, a Bogor vendor in Warung Jambu area said.

He said he could bring home up to Rp 100,000 a day.

"After the campaign season, I am thinking about taking a
holiday to refresh myself ... it's quite distressing selling
these things on the road side."

Sukron, a motor cycle workshop owner, also said his business
had experienced a windfall. "At first, all I thought was about
riots" ahead of the campaigns, he said.

However, due to the large number of people needing their
vehicles fixed before and during the campaigns, he was earning up
to Rp 100,000 per day.