Effectiveness of dialog campaigns

By Amir Santoso

JAKARTA (JP): Dialogs are a new method of campaigning proposed by Golkar. They were implemented for the first time in this campaign, being added to public gatherings and mass rallies, which have been known as campaign monologs.

Golkar's first idea has been to guide voters by the political group's program, rather than by family tradition or a neighbor's choice.

Second, to introduce this campaign method to the other two political contestants, replacing emotional rally speeches with the hope of creating rational voters.

Third, to shorten campaign speeches or replace them with an alternative. It is a known fact that party programs conveyed to public gatherings of thousands of people have not been effective. Experience shows that an effective narration lasts at most five minutes with messages reaching only bystanders near the stage. Often campaigners have been pelted with sandals, or anything, if their speeches last more than five minutes.

Rally participants often prefer the sounds of dangdut music and other musical shows over campaign speeches.

Fourth, public gatherings and mass rallies have always resulted in fatalities. Golkar wants to reduce this number. In this on-going campaign weeks between April 27 and May 15, 73 people died.

Campaign dialogs on television featuring participants of the same political have been shown. No efforts have been made to mix members of different parties in fear of riot outbreaks. The fact is that physical clashes do break out, even though contestants are given alternate days of campaigning. Golkar is cautious not to risk any lives.

The campaign dialog on television seems, indeed, less lively and dull to viewers of a certain intellectual level, but my visits to cities and towns in other regions have proved otherwise. People have been glued to their TV sets and give the campaign their utmost attention.

Apart from making TV appearances, Golkar has also held campaign dialogs in every province. They have usually been held in halls with a restrictive number of people, again, from the same political group.

Discussions in these settings have been quite lively. Golkar supporters are free to inquire about the government, democracy, human rights, environment and other public issues including Golkar's program.

On more than one occasion, I have talked to students, lecturers and religious leaders in East Java, and I have had to cope with all sorts of questions, from clarification of government policies to Golkar's stance on certain issues.

Ginanjar Kartasasmita, Haryono Suyono and several other ministers have also made similar trips to various provinces. I have no idea whether the other two parties, the United Development Party (PPP) and the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), have also had similar campaign dialog programs.

Has it been satisfactory? Of course not. I know that city dwellers, including me, crave for dialog between supporters of different political groups, like they do in Western countries. I just have to be patient, since emotions still run high among average campaigners.

Golkar and the government do not carry programs that would dampen the nation's spirit or destroy its unity to satisfy the desires of a few. Campaign dialogs are an effort to guide the nation, in stages, towards rational thinking.

The writer is a senior lecturer at the University of Indonesia.