Party symbols display attracts youngsters

By Israr Ardiansyah

YOGYAKARTA (JP): During the 1999 general election, the first since the fall of the New Order in May 1998, Indonesians were given the option of 48 parties.

The number of choices seemed plentiful for citizens here as they only had three options during the New Order regime. However, the number was low compared to the 1955 election, which saw 112 parties take part.

The 112-party symbols are on display at the 1955 Election Contestants Symbols Exhibition until Aug. 23 at the Bentara Budaya Yogyakarta.

Renowned painter Djoko Pekik recalled the election as the freest and fairest in the country's history.

"As far back as I can remember, there was no significant tension among the candidates' supporters during the 1955 election campaign period.

"The supporters of each party would wave to each other every time they met other party supporters."

"Everybody came out to a candidate's campaign simply because they trusted the program, not because of money," he said.

Mulyadi J. Amalik, an activist at the Indonesian Islamic University's Center of Human Rights Studies (PUSHAM-UII), could not hide his surprise when he heard that the symbols were being displayed.

"The exhibition gave me a deep insight into what really happened during the 1955 election.

"There were only a few parties which used modern symbols. Most chose common items for their symbols," he said, adding that most of them reminded him of symbols seen at elections for village chiefs.

"Some parties' symbols even looked like the labels of certain products at the market. Many parties also represented their leaders," said Mulyadi, pointing to a symbol of a jumping tiger inscribed with the candidates' name R. A. Rivai.

The exhibition's organizer, Y. Hermanu, said his study had shown that many individual candidates participated in the election.

"Just take a look at the symbol of Kario Siregar's party. It only contained a picture of a bus, inscribed with 'Sibualibuali', in reference to Kario's hometown in North Sumatra."

Hermanu said he had to collect the symbols from the National Almanacs of the 1950s that he found in several used book stores.

"We collected the symbols and exhibited them in an effort to provide insight for the younger generation," he said. "The 1955 election is an education in itself for our politicians."

The exhibition has attracted many youngsters' attention here. Some students and activists urged the committee to give them the exhibition posters.

"I came here to broaden my political insight, and for the posters, of course," said Kelik Supriyanto, a former activist of Kelompok Bulak Sumur (KBS), the Gadjah Mada University's Club of Fine Artists.

Sun Ardi, a renowned painter and lecturer at the Yogyakarta- based Indonesian Arts Institute (ISI), said he admired Bentara Budaya Yogyakarta's initiative to hold the exhibition.

"By observing the parties' symbols we are able to know the spirit they had when they were in the election. Although they look like symbols that are used in elections for village chiefs, the exhibition is a clear guide for tracing our history," he said.

"Many candidates used simple representations for their symbols, such as a house or an umbrella, to impress to the public that they had the desire to protect and take care of their supporters.

"Just look at the symbol of lightning. It showed that J.P. Snel wanted to show that he had a spirit like thunder and lightning," he said, referring to an individual candidate.

Even though the exhibition attracted the youths' attention, the organizers turned down the possibility of displaying the memorabilia in other cities.

A member of the organizing committee, Ong Harry Wahyu, said: "I'm afraid it would cost too much, and our financial resources are limited."

Sun Ardi said a similarity between the 1955 and 1999 election was that voters usually picked a party due to its prominent figure.

"It's not about how good the design is, it's about the party's background and the base of its divisive forces," he said.

The exhibition is being held at Bentara Budaya, Jl. Suroto Yogyakarta, from Aug. 14 through Aug. 23.