DPD candidates: From SMS to napping

DPD candidates: From SMS to napping

A. Junaidi
and Rusman
The Jakarta Post
Jakarta/Samarinda

Necessity is the mother of invention, as they say, and
Regional Representatives Council (DPD) candidates are running the
campaign gamut from mass gatherings, publications to mobile phone
messages as they compete on rough terrain, not only against other
candidates, but also against concurrent party campaigns.

The DPD is a new government institution that will be
established after the legislative election due on April 5. The
country's 32 provinces will have four representatives each in the
council, which is similar in function to the United States
Senate.

Along with the DPD's establishment, the People's Consultative
Assembly, or MPR, is to be dissolved as an institution, and will
convene only as a regulated forum -- its sessions yet to be
determined -- between the House and the new council.

In Jakarta, candidate Aberson Marle Sihaloho chose to take a
nap, according to a source at his home, instead of campaigning as
scheduled on Tuesday for one of only four seats on the capital's
council. A veteran politician of the Indonesian Democratic Party
of Struggle (PDI-P), Sihaloho and was either highly confident of
his chances or utterly hopeless.

"Pak Aberson will meet his supporters at home," a source, who
declined to be named, told The Jakarta Post.

In the afternoon, however, Sihaloho's home on Jl. Kramat VII,
Central Jakarta, seemed quiet and the source said the DPD
aspirant was taking a nap.

In contrast, Golkar veteran politician and House Speaker Akbar
Tandjung has vowed "to go all out" with his campaign, and said
his camp was not underestimating any party, even the new, minor
ones.

Meanwhile, Jakarta DPD candidate and veteran PDI-P politician
Lukman F. Mokoginta was seen among those campaigning for votes,
promising to solve the capital's chronic problems, such as the
yearly floods.

"I will fight so that the Jakarta governor really has the
authority to manage Jakarta and its surrounding areas...," he
said.

Lukman claimed that the city's flood problem was created by
poor environmental management in surrounding areas, such as Depok
and Cianjur, West Java.

In Medan, North Sumatra, a candidate promoted himself via
short message service (SMS) from his mobile phone, confusing many
residents who were unfamiliar with his aspirations.

"I did not know who sent the message. He just asked to be
chosen as a DPD member from North Sumatra," Sendi, one resident
who received the message, was quoted by Antara as saying on
Tuesday. The candidate only introduced himself as Polin Pospos, a
lecturer and senior economist at a university in Medan, Sendi
said.

In Samarinda, East Kalimantan, DPD candidate Hasanuddin Rahman
said he was not expecting a huge turnout at his campaign.

"It's difficult to gather people and it also requires no small
amount of money," said Hasanuddin, head of venture capital
company Sarana Ventura Kaltim.

He said he refrained from organizing a mass gathering and
instead released a book on his vision and mission as well as
calendars, all of which cost less than holding big events.

Another local candidate, Heriyadi, also said funds were needed
to hire attendants and renting venues and transportation.

"It's impossible not to pay supporters. We also have to pay
for sound systems and transportation," Heriyadi, a journalist,
said.