Power of the poor can be bought for rallies

By Ida Indawati Khouw

JAKARTA (JP): Those who glorify democracy may believe that the voice of the people is the voice of God. But in Indonesia "voices of the people" cost a mere Rp 20,000 each.

The "voice" belongs to poor people who will take to the streets for money and shout slogans already formulated by the interest groups which hire them.

So at times like this, when political tension is running high, these so called professional demonstrators are pretty busy taking orders to demonstrate, often in support of a variety of interest groups.

General elections and People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) general meetings are peak seasons.

Some politicians have to pay a lot of money to organize demonstrations. After all, there is no such thing as a "free lunch".

These days, you can see demonstrations for and against President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid in connection with his alleged role in the Rp 35 billion scandal at the State Logistic Agency (Bulog) and a US$2 million donation from the Sultan of Brunei.

The politicians, who love to claim they are vanguards of the Constitution (UUD), will certainly deny having hired people to take to the streets in support of their cause. In fact, the acronym UUD (Undang-Undang Dasar) has often been twisted into ujung-ujungnya duit (on the top of everything is money).

People familiar with the trade say that each demonstrator can be hired for between Rp 15,000 and Rp 25,000 per demonstration.

Unang and Dadang's story

Paid street demonstrators Unang, 47, and Dadang, 19, (both are not their real names) have their stories to tell.

"I actually don't like the job. It's easy but risky. It's the money which motivates me to join (the demonstrations). I believe any poor people like me won't say no to do it," said the 47-year- old man.

Unang and Dadang live in small, dingy rented houses in the slum areas within Menteng, Central Jakarta, and Manggarai, South Jakarta, respectively. Unang has to support a wife and two children.

Unang's children, both in elementary school, appear malnourished.

His wife Anah (not her real name) has always warned him to be careful and disallowed him to take part in any demonstration when she thinks violence in imminent.

"Even though we badly need the money, I always insist he should not go if the condition becomes dangerous. For instance I didn't let him go last Monday (during the House of Representatives plenary session on the Bulog and Brunei scandals) because the crowd was too big and clashes could occur anytime," Anah said.

Unang, who is a tailor, is choosy about which demonstrations he will participate in.

"For example, I don't want to join street protests against or for Gus Dur which feature the opposing camps at the same time because clashes are highly probable."

Unang recalled that his first involvement in the demonstration business was during the May 1999 election campaigns.

"At first, I joined a celebration of the Jakarta chapter of Golkar Party's anniversary at the Horizon Hotel (North Jakarta) in 1999. I was given Golkar's yellow T-shirt. I was asked to sit inside a hall listening to speeches and was promised Rp 50,000 in cash. But I only received half of the amount due to several deductions," he added.

Predictably, organizations that demonstrators say have paid them to stage street protests deny such money politics.

Deputy Secretary of Golkar Party's Jakarta chapter Amarullah Asbah says, "The present Golkar Party is different from that in the past. Now, we do not have money to recruit demonstrators," he said.

When confronted with Unang's story, Amarullah said "anybody can have claims but we never employ such policies (paying demonstrators)."

Unang claimed that he did not personally know the individual who recruited him because he only followed a jobless friend who he met when taking his daughter to school in the nearby Cikini area.

It was the same friend who encouraged Unang to (again) join the Golkar campaign, and for the same amount of money. He recalled a time when he received a head injury after Golkar campaigners clashed with those of other groups.

"Then I promised myself not to join such rallies any more," he said.

But the family's deteriorating financial condition forced him to change his mind when recruiters were roaming around his neighborhood in search of paid protesters to demand the dissolution of the Golkar Party.

"My monthly income as a tailor is only Rp 200,000. The additional Rp 15,000 to Rp 20,000 per demo means a lot," he said.

Over the past few weeks he has joined demonstrators taking their demands to the House of Representatives building.

"We were just asked to parade in front of the House building while things like posters and buses are arranged by somebody else. At the end of the day I will receive Rp 20,000," he said, adding that about 40 people from his neighborhood do the same.

"In the recent huge rally, I just sat in the minibus because the crowd was so big at the House building that I was afraid to get involved," he said.

The person who recruits people in Unang's neighborhood is a mystery. His wife said she learned the "recruiter" lived in a rented house in the neighborhood to make their job easier.

"I even heard that he enjoys a good income from the recruitment project," she said.

Dadang, from a different neighborhood, said that slum areas like Manggarai district in Central Jakarta where he lives, were a favorite place for recruiters.

According to Dadang, brokers roam such areas and approach locals who have become susceptible to recruiters.

"I was gathered with some jobless friends in Jl. Tambak (an area prone to inter-neighborhood brawls) when a man approached us and invited us to join a demonstration. Our job was easy, to march to the parliament building, and we would each receive Rp 20,000 for it," he said.

Dadang said he learned later that the person was a recruiter for the youth wing of a Muslim-based political party, which offers Rp 20,000 in cash per demonstration with the main theme being to topple Gus Dur from the presidency.

"There are about 20 youths from my neighborhood who joined the street protest in front of the parliament building," he said.

"Actually I don't know anything about politics, I just did what I was told to do. For me, what is important is the payment," he added.

For Dadang, joining the demonstrations is fun. "I can get money to buy cigarettes," said Dadang, who works as a security guard at an entertainment venue in downtown Kota.