Many ways of raising funds for regional direct election

Many ways of raising funds for regional direct election

Oyos Saroso H.N., The Jakarta Post, Bandarlampung

Achmad Yulizar, 50, is rather chipper looking for a man who
failed to secure the nomination of the Prosperous Justice Party
(PKS) for Bandarlampung mayor.

After all, the current deputy mayor of Bandarlampung still has
the chance to be nominated by two other parties he is affiliated
with -- the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle and the
Democratic Party. And even if he does not secure a nomination for
the June election, he can always return to his other life as an
extremely successful and rich businessman.

Yulizar's many properties include a hotel, plots of land, a
maternity hospital and shop-houses. If ever he needs a bit of
ready cash for a political campaign, he simply uses one of his
properties as collateral to get a loan from his relatives.

Thanks to loans from his relatives, the deputy mayor is not
too concerned about raising more money to support his candidacy.

"I don't exert myself. I'm being realistic. If I'm not elected
mayor, I'll return to my life as a businessman," he told The
Jakarta Post recently at his newly built hotel.

The 50-room hotel on Jl. Cut Nyak Dien, in the heart of
Bandarlampung, is one of the assets Yulizar has put up as
collateral. Every evening, he meets with supporters in the lobby
of the hotel after completing his daily duties as Bandarlampung's
deputy mayor.

A political observer in Lampung, Mahendra Utama, said there
were many ways for politicians to acquire campaign funds,
including borrowing money from family and friends. Loans from
family, said Mahendra, carried with them fewer risks than bank
loans.

"Bank loans have high interest rates. And only trust and a
guarantee of winning the election are needed to get a loan from
wealthy friends," said Mahendra.

A building contractor in East Lampung, Abah Entis, known to
some as the "walking bank", often provides loans to regional
political candidates.

People close to Abah say a number of administrative chiefs
currently in office in Lampung have borrowed money from Abah.

Abah conceded that a number of candidates had visited him in
the past few months, but declined to say the purpose of these
visits.

"They're just friendly visits. We've known each other for a
long time," said the contractor from Banten, who earned the
nickname the "King of Contractors" by having a hand in nearly
every major project in East Lampung.

In return for providing interest-free loans to candidates, all
Abah asks is that they throw construction projects his way after
they are in office.

However, Mahendra warned the candidates that pouring money
into their campaigns did not guarantee victory.

There are 522,885 eligible voters in Bandarlampung, and
Mahendra said these voters differed in character from voters in
other provinces.

Voters in Bandarlampung, said Mahendra, could be more
"cunning" than the candidates.

"Candidates know that voters may not vote for them even if
they are paid to. Learning from past elections, candidates will
not waste money by handing it out to political brokers and
voters," said Mahendra.

The cost of even being nominated in Bandarlampung is very
high. Mahendra estimates a candidate must spend at least Rp 4
billion to "register", for lobbying, campaigning and buying
flyers and posters.