Presidential candidates go cyber to attract voters
Presidential candidates go cyber to attract voters
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta
Over 10 million computer users represents quite a big market for
the candidates contesting the presidential election on July 5.
Previous elections saw campaigners banking on traditional
methods, including rallies and media advertisements.
Golkar Party presidential candidate Wiranto and his United
Development Party (PPP) rival Hamzah Haz were the first
candidates to launch websites -- a full year before they were
officially declared eligible to run.
To find Wiranto's manifesto, click onto www.wiranto.com, and
visit www.hamzah-haz.com for information on the PPP leader.
Amien Rais, another presidential candidate, set up his
website, www.m-amienrais.com, in a bid to attract young, middle-
class and educated voters.
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Megawati Soekarnoputri only
launched their websites recently.
Susilo's media center administers the www.sby-oke.com
homepage. Megawati's website www.megahasyim.com is run by her
newly-established campaign team, the Mega Center.
All the websites are well-maintained, and provide information
on the candidates' resumes, professional backgrounds, visions,
missions, manifestos and daily activities during the campaign,
including their campaign schedules.
They also provide news, either written by their respective
campaign teams, or taken from local or foreign media.
Megawati's website administrator, indo.com, also provides
lucky draws for internet users.
Apart from the official websites, young Internet users can
gain alternative access to their favorite candidates via
www.friendster.com.
Friendster is an online community that connects people through
networks of friends, which is well-known among teenagers and
those in 20s.
Each user is required to fill in a profile about himself or
herself, which is then accessed by his or her friends or friends
of their friends. A user usually writes about his friends in the
testimonial section.
One can only enter friendster if invited by friends.
Susilo is registered with the network. His page displays
pictures from his biography, SBY: The Democrat.
He writes in his page that he will do his best as president if
elected. More than 150 users have made entries in the testimonial
section, mostly talking about their admiration for the former
Army general.
There are also pages for Amien, Megawati, Hamzah and Kalla.
A friendster addict, Edo, believes the candidates and their
campaign teams never intended to join friendster.
"It must have been someone doing it for fun. I don't think the
candidates would be familiar with friendster as they are too
old," he said.
A media officer with Kalla confirmed he new nothing about the
vice presidential candidate's appearance on friendster.