W. Sumatra parties battle time and apathy

By Yusril Ardanis

PADANG, West Sumatra (JP): Last Wednesday, party executives visiting the office of the Provincial Elections Committee here looked relieved.

They had passed the "first round" of the elections by submitting their lists of prospective candidates for the House of Representatives and the provincial and regional houses.

Finding and selecting candidates was hard work, resulting in husbands, wives and children being included on some party lists.

It would be too hasty to charge parties with nepotism.

"Everything had to be done in a hurry," the head of the Provincial Elections Committee, Adi Bermasa, said recently.

Preparations were hurried because those parties eligible to contest the polls were only announced early in March.

This could explain why there are only two candidates for the People's Choice Party (Pilar), Suardi Chaniago and his wife. A source on the committee said he was told it was difficult for the party to find candidates. Few were interested, he said.

The National Democrats Party (PND) named only four candidates and the Suni Party only five.

The local chairman of the Murba party, Khairul Azmi, said his party's list would smell of nepotism.

"To be frank, there are husbands and wives and some have listed their own children. What else can we do? Others are faring even worse," he said.

The word which describes the attitude toward politics here is politik rendang, coined after the famed spicy meat dish from West Sumatra which is cooked for days.

It means "the longer the better", implying that people here wait for as long as possible before making their political decisions known.

Nevertheless, of the 48 parties contesting the polls, 41 have chapters in West Sumatra. The other seven parties could not gain interest here -- including Catholic parties and small Muslim parties.

On Wednesday, the first day of campaigning, there were signs that the 41 parties here have more support on paper than in reality, as parties were beset by problems, including low turnout for their rallies.

Cafes

The fact that many people seem noncommittal to any party led party executives to look everywhere for people to fill their candidate lists, including in cafes and coffee shops.

Such venues of debate and gossip in West Sumatra were packed even during the New Order regime, when people elsewhere were relatively quiet.

Information from relatives and acquaintances who live in other parts of the country have taught residents to be careful about which party they choose to support.

Before the announcement of the temporary legislature lists, several party executives were seen at cafes and coffee shops introducing their parties to patrons.

They would drop the names of important people in Jakarta and ask patrons whether they were interested in becoming candidates.

"We've come to know their behavior and intentions by heart," one patron at a cafe visited by party executives said.

Residents say people may seem noncommittal, but many have quietly decided on their choice.

One indication of this was the long list of legislative candidates selected by the National Mandate Party (PAN).

PAN is led by Amien Rais, former chairman of the country's second largest Muslim organization, Muhammadiyah, which has a large following among Muslims in West Sumatra.

Amien's cries against injustice, well before he established PAN, also contributed to his popularity here.

Many of those interested in becoming PAN candidates were cash crop farmers in regions which have profited from the depreciation of the rupiah against the dollar.

The farmers were not politically active during the New Order, and said they were attracted to the "nationalistic" platform of the National Mandate Party.

Mardi, a noted rice trader here, said it was now time for him to join the world of politics through PAN. He added its platform sought to fight for fairness in business, "especially the interests of small scale businesses."

Meanwhile, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) mainly attracts the lower-classes here, such as those along the coastal areas.

Golkar Party provincial chairman Noer Bahri Pamuncak claims Golkar will win the elections in the province, but support is declining. No more than 1,000 people attended a recent provincial party function which featured a number of native Sumatran Cabinet ministers, including Akbar Tandjung.

Public figures were featured on Golkar's list of legislature candidates in past years, but this year there are many new names among the 95 candidates. Along the streets, Golkar's yellow flags are drowned out by the red flags of PDI Perjuangan and the blue flags of the National Mandate Party. In several cities, the flags of these two parties fly side by side.

However, Noer said Golkar had many members and expected even more. "New members are even better members."

A cultural observer here, Mursal Esten, said residents needed time to assess the parties. As of now, many people are suspicious of new parties while others gladly take any money the parties offer, regardless of whether they will actually vote for that party.

Local papers have focused on alleged vote buying by parties, giving the public even more reason to doubt the sincerity of the 41 parties attempting to woo West Sumatra's 2.5 million eligible voters.