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.