Salim Osman – Tucked in a side street in south Jakarta is a bamboo hut that has been attracting scores of working-class Indonesians daily.
It is a popular eatery, or warung and one of thousands that dot nooks and crannies in the Indonesian capital providing decent food and drink at budget prices for lower-income workers.
But this outlet is like no other. It is called Warung Wiranto, named after the presidential aspirant who is behind a chain of more than 2,000 similar eateries across the country.
It is festooned with banners bearing pictures of Mr Wiranto and his running mate, Solahuddin Wahid. The banners are yellow – the colour of Golkar – and green, the symbol of Nadhlatul Ulama, Indonesia's largest Muslim organisation.
Operating like a franchise, the eatery serves staples such as nasi goreng, nasi rames and mie kuah, as well as hot and cold drinks. Its other attraction is the sale – at a discount – of T-shirts and key-chains as well as CDs of songs by Mr Wiranto and a VCD about him.
Customers might even find the former general seated next to them. "The warung is just a place for Pak Wiranto to interact with the community. This is no election gimmick. Pak Wiranto likes to eat in warungs and we decided to set this up for that purpose," said aide Tito Sulistiyo.
Since the middle of last month, about 200 such eateries have sprung up in the capital and at least 2,000 others across the rest of the country. According to Mr Tito, the 600-million-rupiah (S$110,000) venture has franchises all across the nation, in Aceh, Kalimantan, Papua and even far-flung Sulawesi.
The manager of the Jalan Wijaya warung, Mr Omen Sontiani, told The Straits Times that his eatery made four million rupiah a day. "It's a source of income for our supporters and also provides employment for Indonesian youths working at our roadside cafes," he said.
Critics argue the warungs are nothing more than a medium for the Wiranto team to fish for votes. "We don't deny this. But if this eatery can bring in the support for Pak Wiranto, it will be a bonus," said Mr Omen.
The campaign teams of the other four presidential candidates concede that the warung strategy is a clever way of getting voter support without breaching electoral rules. "We can't afford to set up similar warungs to rival them because we don't have the money," said Mr Alvin Lie, an aide of presidential contender Amien Rais.
Mr Lie, of the National Mandate Party (PAN), said that his political boss sought other ways of reaching out to the voters. This included mingling with people at wet markets – a tactic employed by other contenders such as front runner Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and incumbent President Megawati Sukarnoputri.
While Mr Wiranto has his warungs to garner support, some allege his rivals have resorted to buying votes. Such vote-buying includes the distribution of basic commodities, free medical services and even transportation money of up to 35,000 rupiahs to entice voters to attend campaign events.
Campaign workers for Mrs Megawati are said to have provided free anti-dengue spraying in many areas of South Sumatra. Over in Surabaya, they have even capitalised on the current Euro 2004 soccer fever by setting up a large screen at a sports field.
Political observer Indria Samego of LIPI, Indonesia's Institute of Sciences, commented: "Our election watchdog should scrutinise how candidates fish for votes. Is running the warung a disguised form of vote-buying like giving out packets of food or fertiliser?"