A. Junaidi and Rusman, Jakarta/Samarinda – Necessity is the mother of invention, as they say, and Regional Representatives Council (DPD) candidates are running the campaign gamut from mass gatherings, publications to mobile phone messages as they compete on rough terrain, not only against other candidates, but also against concurrent party campaigns.
The DPD is a new government institution that will be established after the legislative election due on April 5. The country's 32 provinces will have four representatives each in the council, which is similar in function to the United States Senate.
Along with the DPD's establishment, the current People's Consultative Assembly, or MPR, is to be dissolved and the new one will convene only as a regulated forum – its sessions yet to be determined – between the House and the new council.
In Jakarta, candidate Aberson Marle Sihaloho chose to take a nap, according to a source at his home, instead of campaigning as scheduled on Tuesday for one of only four seats on the capital's council. A veteran politician of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Sihaloho was either highly confident of his chances or utterly hopeless.
"Pak Aberson will meet his supporters at home," a source, who declined to be named, told The Jakarta Post. In the afternoon, however, Sihaloho's home on Jl. Kramat VII, Central Jakarta, seemed quiet and the source said the DPD aspirant was taking a nap.
In contrast, Golkar veteran politician and House Speaker Akbar Tandjung has vowed "to go all out" with his campaign, and said his camp was not underestimating any party, even the new, minor ones.
Meanwhile, Jakarta DPD candidate and veteran PDI-P politician Lukman F. Mokoginta was seen among those campaigning for votes, promising to solve the capital's chronic problems, such as the yearly floods.
"I will fight so that the Jakarta governor really has the authority to manage Jakarta and its surrounding areas...," he said. Lukman claimed that the city's flood problem was created by poor environmental management in surrounding areas, such as Depok and Cianjur, West Java.
In Medan, North Sumatra, a candidate promoted himself via short message service (SMS) from his mobile phone, confusing many residents who were unfamiliar with his aspirations.
"I did not know who sent the message. He just asked to be chosen as a DPD member from North Sumatra," Sendi, one resident who received the message, was quoted by Antara as saying on Tuesday. The candidate only introduced himself as Polin Pospos, a lecturer and senior economist at a university in Medan, Sendi said.
In Samarinda, East Kalimantan, DPD candidate Hasanuddin Rahman said he was not expecting a huge turnout at his campaign. "It's difficult to gather people and it also requires no small amount of money," said Hasanuddin, head of venture capital company Sarana Ventura Kaltim.
He said he refrained from organizing a mass gathering and instead released a book on his vision and mission as well as calendars, all of which cost less than holding big events.
Another local candidate, Heriyadi, also said funds were needed to hire attendants and renting venues and transportation. "It's impossible not to pay supporters. We also have to pay for sound systems and transportation," Heriyadi, a journalist, said.