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."