Pundits question Golkar use of celebrities

Pundits question Golkar use of celebrities

SEMARANG (JP): No candidate for the House of Representatives
has provoked more controversy than the "king" of dangdut music,
Rhoma Irama.

Rhoma has deserted the Moslem-oriented United Development
Party (PPP) and joined the ruling Golkar, which has put him at
the top of its list of Jakarta candidates.

Observers said here Saturday that they recognize Rhoma's right
to join Golkar, but doubt he will criticize the government the
way he did as a PPP member.

They argue that Rhoma, who infuses his songs with Islamic
teachings of morality, will have a hard time defending common
people as a representative of Golkar.

"He is not likely to sing his well-known hit which rightly
implies that 'the poor are getting poorer and the rich getting
richer,'" said intellectual Emha Ainun Nadjib.

When campaigning for the PPP in 1977 and 1982, Rhoma won huge
support for his scathing criticism of the government's failure to
address the problems of social injustice and corruption within
the system.

Golkar will contest with the PPP and the Indonesian Democratic
Party for 425 seats in the House next year.

Apart from Rhoma, Golkar has also recruited soap opera star
Rano Karno, Javanese shadow puppet master Ki Anom Suroto and
former badminton hero Icuk Sugiarto, in the hope that they will
attract more votes in the 1997 election.

Reports have quoted Rhoma as saying that is prepared to devote
himself to Golkar.

Says Emha, "I do hope that Rhoma's performance as a House
member will be better than many observers expect. I hope he will
defend the poor as he is supposed to."

Emha has refused the PPP's offer to become a candidate but
promised to help the PPP campaign to achieve its target of 96
seats in the House.

The head of the PPP's Central Java chapter, Djuhad, is
skeptical of Golkar's celebrity tactic.

"Rhoma's inclusion on Golkar's list of vote getters will have
no impact on the PPP," he told The Jakarta Post.

Djuhad predicts that Rhoma's commitment to Golkar will mostly
boost his musical career because he will no longer be prohibited
from appearing on state-run TVRI. Rhoma has been banned from TVRI
since the early 1980s for his critical government stance.

"If he campaigns for the PPP, the ban will never be lifted for
obvious reasons," he said.

The recruitment of celebrities shows that the quality of
democracy in Indonesia is still low, he said.

Atja Soewangsa, a Golkar member of Central Java's provincial
legislative council, said that Rhoma and Rano Karno should help
Golkar improve its performance.

"Their mass communication skills are beyond doubt," he said.

Susilo Utomo, a political observer from Diponegoro University,
added his hope that Rhoma will not lose his critical view of
widespread socioeconomic disparities. (har/pan)