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.