Parties change to woo the crowds

Parties change to woo the crowds

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The public's lackluster response to election campaigns has forced
political parties to draw up new strategies to attract people to
their campaign sites.

Rully Chairul Azwar, Golkar's campaign team secretary, said on
Thursday that his party had prepared different approaches for
various situations in order to draw a large crowd of people.

"A monologue campaign attended by a large number of supporters
is still important to gauge our strength, but we realize that we
cannot get our message across effectively in such a situation,"
Rully said.

However, he did not reveal the different approaches his party
was preparing.

Secretary-general of the United Democratic Nationhood Party
(PPDK) Rivai Pulungan said his party preferred campaigning in
workplaces like factories, fishermen compounds, and farming areas
over indoor campaigns at designated areas.

"We talk with them about their problems in an informal
atmosphere. In such a situation, they can explain their problems
freely and intensive dialog can take place," he said on Thursday.

Djafar Badjeber, secretary-general of the Reform Star Party
(PBR), said his party had deployed campaigners to visit informal
leaders, such as ulema, to introduce the party's platform.

"I just visited a influential Muslim cleric in East Jakarta
today to introduce our platform. Other PBR leaders also visited
different figures. We believe that it is an effective campaign
strategy as such figures have many followers," he said.

This year's election campaigns seem a far cry from the
euphoria of 1999 when crowds of supporters flocked to street
rallies.

The presence of celebrities also failed to attract crowds,
with most people leaving campaign sites before speakers had even
finished their speeches.

The National Awakening Party (PKB) said on Thursday it had
changed its strategy by focusing on visits to mosques and Islamic
boarding schools to hold dialogs and exchange views on a wide
range of issues.

The party's vote-getter Imam Anshari Saleh said PKB had also
allocated Rp 4 billion for advertisements and commercials in
newspapers and on television.

"We have realized that voters come to our campaigns to have
fun, not to hear the party's platform. With or without knowledge
of our platform, they will vote for PKB," he said.

According to Rully, television ads were the most effective way
to convey messages to the public. He said such ads could reach
those who were reluctant to attend campaigns for fear of violence
or inconveniences, such as heavy rain or the heat of the midday
sun.

He said his party had allocated nearly Rp 10 million (US$1.19
million) for television campaigns.