Fan clubs, the latest election trend in Riau

Fan clubs, the latest election trend in Riau

Fadli, The Jakarta Post, Batam

Like so many pop groups and crooners, gubernatorial candidates in
Riau Islands province have set up fan clubs to rally public
support in the coming direct local leadership election.

The hastily formed fan clubs are used as a means to connect
the candidates and potential supporters before the election takes
place on June 30.

Two pairs of candidates in the gubernatorial election have
resorted to this method to attract more public support, namely
the Ismeth Abdullah-Muhammad Sani ticket and the Nyat Kadir-Suryo
Respationo ticket.

Leader of the Ismeth Fan Club (IFC), Hoposan Sihombing, told
The Jakarta Post that the fan club had not been established at
the initiative of the candidate's campaign team. He said he
himself had formed the club due to his wish to facilitate
meetings between the gubernatorial candidate and his prospective
constituents.

"The Ismeth Fan Club was created solely at my own initiative.
The money for renting the office and buying T-shirts and stickers
comes from Ismeth's loyal supporters," claimed Hoposan, who
established the club on May 5.

According to Hoposan, the concept of forming the club
originated from his wish to promote Ismeth Abdullah, the former
Batam Authority Board head, as the next governor of Riau Islands
province. He acknowledged that the club had set up branches in
four regencies and two municipalities in the province. "If there
are people who want his autograph, we will facilitate them. He is
already well known. He's the former chairman of the Batam
Authority Board and the former caretaker governor of Riau
Islands. So, if there are fanatical fans, it's not a concocted
story, as he's very popular," said Hoposan.

The Ismeth and Muhammad Sani ticket has come up with various
schemes to garner public support and publicize their programs,
such as forming the Ismeth Victory Team, Ismeth Sani Duo, Ismeth
Sani Team and the Live and Die for Ismeth Team, in addition to
the fan club.

Similarly, the Nyat Kadir and Suryo Respationo ticket has also
come up with various gimmicks to attract support, including
setting up a fan club.

Head of the Nyat Youth Supporters (PPN), Nasib Sihahan, said
that the group was one of 10 vote gathering schemes engineered by
Nyat Kadir, the former mayor of Batam. But its role was only
social in nature, and it was not directly involved in
campaigning.

"We only hold get-together, invite people from the villages
and districts to join in our activities, such as community work
and mass circumcisions. Through these activities, Pak Nyat may
indirectly gain recognized. The people's appreciation for us is
quite high," said Nasib.

However, the Rizal Zein and Firman Bisowarno ticket has opted
not to form such a grouping. They rely solely on their campaign
team to garner votes for them.

"We trust our campaign team to arrange everything. Our campaigners
come from the Riau Islands. As this is a local event, why should
we employ campaigners from Jakarta, or artistes from there. We
need to be self-confident if we want to move on," said Firman by
telephone on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, a member of the Riau Island's National Election
Monitoring Committee, Arifuddin Jalil, said that ploys such as
the setting up of fan clubs by the gubernatorial candidates was
permissible as long as they did not violate election rules or
start campaigning prematurely.

"It's permissible to have fan clubs or other campaign gimmicks
as long as they don't start campaigning before the start of the
official period set by the KPU," said Arifuddin.