Internet fails to woo most political parties
Internet fails to woo most political parties
By M.M.I. Ahyani
BANDUNG (JP): Adrie Harsala, 32, a computer head who enjoys
surfing the Internet, is frustrated with the way the election
campaigns have been carried out.
As parades of followers of political parties cause traffic
congestion, he has become increasingly reluctant to find out more
about the 48 parties contesting the June 7 elections.
"If you wish to attend a party campaign at an enclosed site,
you must be ready to go through traffic jams on your way to the
campaign site and then on your way home," he said. "As for the
campaigns on TV, these are pretty boring."
Nevertheless, Harsala, a computer programmer by profession, is
still keen on satisfying his curiosity about background
information on the 48 political parties taking part in the
upcoming elections.
So, he thought, why not the Internet?
However, he is disappointed, as not all parties have made use
of the virtual world to promote themselves.
From surfing the Internet, he has found the profile of only
nine political parties on their respective homepages.
"Well, the profiles are not interesting at all. It is just
like reading a leaflet or a pamphlet. A newspaper is better, as
more details are provided."
The director of PT Elga Yasa Media, Didi Apriadi, one of the
Internet service providers, acknowledged a lack of interest on
the part of political parties to make use of the Internet as a
campaign tool.
"Once, I addressed a seminar on political party campaigning
and found that most of the party figures attending the seminar
did not think the Internet an effective means of campaigning," he
said.
Understandably, therefore, only a few parties have established
official websites or homepages. As for other information about
parties on the Internet, the political parties concerned must
express their gratitude to the General Elections Commission
(KPU), nongovernmental organizations active in voter education
and the media for the trouble they have taken to provide this
information.
Mass media publications such as Pikiran Rakyat in Bandung and
Detik.Com have profiled the 48 political parties free of charge
on their sites.
Through the yahoo.com search engine, The Jakarta Post has
successfully traced eight parties, the websites of which are
available on the Internet. They are:
* The National Mandate Party (PAN) (http://www.amanat.org)
* The Justice Party (PK) (http://www.keadilan.or.id)
* The National Awakening Party (PKB) (http://www.pkb.ord)
* The Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI)
(http://www.banteng.org),
* The United Development Party (PPP) (http://www.ppp.or.id)
* The Golkar Party (http://www.golkar.net)
* The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan)
(http://www.pdiperjuangan.org)
* The Democratic People's Party (PRD)
(http://www.peg.apc.org/~stan/asiet/whatis/prd.htm).
The Peace Loving Party has recently advertised its website in
the newspaper at URL (http://www.cintadamai.org).
Although the websites of other parties are yet to be traced,
comprehensive information about all parties is available at this
website: http://www.detik.com, the website of the General
Elections Commission (KPU) and that of the Indonesian Elections
Committee (PPI).
Enthusiasm
Political parties' lack of enthusiasm for the Net may be
attributable to the assumption that it is not an effective means
for political campaigning, and/or that it is expensive to
establish a website.
"In fact, there are also free services on the Internet," said
Didi.
"Just get the materials ready, design the campaign yourself
and then host it somewhere. My company can prepare this campaign
for Rp 50,000 only. But, of course, the quality depends on the
price," said Didi, a deputy chairman of the Indonesian
Association of Internet Providers.
He admitted that Indonesian Internet users were still limited.
"Those subscribing to Internet providers number about 200,000
people. Then some companies have their own Internet network.
Don't forget, though, the Internet accessible to one house may be
surfed by several members of the family. So, at least, they can
also be influenced by what they find on the Internet."
It is projected that Internet users in Indonesia will grow by
1 million people a year.
"Just imagine the number of Internet surfers in Indonesia in
the next five years.
"Besides, most of these people are educated and professionals
generally hard pressed with time. These people won't have time to
follow the street parades of political parties.
They may learn something about a political party from the
newspapers or other mass media publications they happen to read
and also from the Internet."
Superior features of the Net as a medium of communication and
information are that its data can be updated any time, it enables
global access and it is speedy and cheap.
The problem is that much of the information presented is very
dull.
Of all the websites established by Indonesian political
parties, Golkar's homepage is the most appealing in terms of
design and materials available.
"As for the websites of other parties, they present only the
address of the party chairman, the biography of their
presidential nominee and the proceedings of party meetings or
party statements. Well, all that can actually be found in
newspapers," Harsala said.
Boring
An Internet expert from Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB),
Dr. Onno W. Purbo, told the Post he had also tried to see a tap
into party sites on the Internet.
"Rather boring. An Internet user would not like to surf these
party websites. (They will be) wasting time and money, while they
receive only a little information. It is all right with me,
because I can surf from my campus," he said.
In his opinion, a better medium for political parties to carry
out Internet campaigns was via a mailing list. "I don't think
party cadres make use of this mailing list medium. A mailing list
is interactive in nature, so a party cadre may be targeted all
the time by other users."
Purbo blamed the misperception that "promotion on the Internet
is different from promotion in conventional media, such as
newspapers, the radio or the television.
"The Internet is a two-way medium, so it must be interactive.
Therefore, through the Internet a party may mobilize the masses,
hold discussions or simply get feedback from the community."
Purbo argued that promotion via a website was just like a
campaign monologue.
"If anybody at all is willing to see what we have on our
homepage, we should thank God already.
"If the material is just like what we have now, I am sure few
will be willing to read it. If you put it on a mailing list, then
there will be two-way communication, a sort of a dialog."
Purbo agreed with Harsala that the Internet was a low-cost
medium for campaigning, especially considering its global scope.
"If one is smart enough to find a site for a chat, then it
will spread far and wide, just like Indo-News, ITB-Net or SiaR,"
he said.
Political parties must also be wise when preparing campaign
materials, he said.
"The longer people use the Internet, the more they expect to
find constructive materials. They would no longer be interested
in condemnation, rumors and slander. To them, these will be a
waste of time and money.
"Take ... the student (activists) at Salman (Mosque) at the
ITB, for example. They have set up the Effective Technology
Center, established networks at pesantren (Islamic boarding
schools) and so on. This is constructive."
Purbo was enthusiastic about this constructive component of
the Internet. "It is a good idea for the community to make use of
the Internet to convey their thoughts to the People's
Consultative Assembly/House of People's Representatives
(MPR/DPR), in order that they may not come face to face with
troops."
He urged people to think of the possibilities of using the
Internet for radio or TV networks. "Then you could hold a talk
show and your listeners would be both in Indonesia and in the
rest of the world.
"A conventional radio may be connected through the Internet
and for the feedback E-mail, facsimile, chat line, the telephone
and so forth may be used. Connect them again to be on air. Just
imagine if you go on air like this, everybody can hear the
feedback from just anywhere."
Purbo argued that by using these methods, pressure could
continue to be applied to legislators, so that they would always
voice the aspirations of the people.
"The basic idea is simple, namely to make it easier for the
community to speak up. Not like before: you sent a letter and
then the letter got dumped somewhere. No bureaucracy will be
needed. Both sides will get the benefits."