Dewi Kurniawati – Yuli Rahmawati stepped into Indonesia's political ring for the first time last month. Given that she is better known as sex kitten model and actress Julia Perez, she decided to live up to her sultry reputation.
Perez sported nine-centimeter heels and oversized sunglasses as she made her first appearance as candidate for deputy district head in Pacitan, hometown of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in East Java.
Affectionately known as Jupe, Perez's visit was her maiden attempt to win over voters.
She has triggered a national debate over whether celebrities should be running for office. Many shook their heads in disbelief following her decision to jump into the race. Among the public, some view the phenomenon of actors, singers, comedians and other famous Indonesians hitting the campaign trail as politics at its lowest form. They aren't alone – even Perez was initially taken aback by her nomination.
"The first thing that crossed my mind was, 'Is this some kind of a joke? Is this for real?', because all this time I never imagined myself going into politics," she told Jakarta Globe during a two-hour car ride from Yogyakarta to Pacitan to launch her political adventure.
"But then I saw this as a chance passing in front of me. So I grabbed it. Hopefully my nomination will inspire Indonesia's youth to get involve in developing this country."
While Perez is backed by a coalition of eight political parties for her run in Pacitan, her nomination also exemplifies the problems afflicting politics.
With a lack of strong candidates and political leaders, some parties are turning to celebrities to help attract votes in both local and national elections.
While they may draw a crowd, these celebrities – many of whom are women – lack experience or an understanding of grassroots issues, prompting accusations that they're simply the puppets of local political bosses.
Perez is far more famous for racy bikini and lingerie photo shoots than her knowledge of government budgets or bread and butter issues such as food and fuel subsidies.
Regardless, she rejects the argument that she's nothing more than window dressing. "The coalition thinks I have potential. I speak three languages, and as such I can lure investors to come and help build Pacitan," she said.
The nomination of Perez has polarized the electorate and officials alike, with the Ministry of Home Affairs threatening to enact new election regulations that would require candidates to pass a morality test and have prior experience working in government or in a political or civil society organization.
The morality clauses, said Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi, would ban candidates who were drinkers, adulterers, gamblers and drug users, among other offenses. Perez has remained diplomatic amid the controversy.
"I respect what the minister said, but I'm just responding to what life offers me. Pros and cons are part of democracy," she said. "People might reject me because they think I'm not serious, but in time they will come to see that I'm very serious about jumping into politics."
Puppet Masters
Sutikno, head of Perez's coalition campaign team from the People's Conscience Party (Hanura), said they were considering five possible candidates to run for district head alongside Julia, including a cousin of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is from Pacitan.
"There is this thinking, since Pacitan is President Yudhoyono's birthplace, that then we should let his Democratic Party win the district chief election without a fight," Sutikno told the Jakarta Globe.
Despite his claims to have carried out a thorough vetting process, some Pacitan voters said Sutikno was clearly taking advantage of the notoriety of Perez and Yudhoyono's cousin, Nurcahyono, to win.
"Jupe's nomination is a total joke. We laugh about it because we all know who's behind her," said batik shop owner Ratnasari, referring to Sutikno. "We'll do whatever we can to stop her running." "He's just a political broker for the sake of money," another Pacitan resident told the Globe.
Using women as the face of campaigns is a somewhat new trend in the country's political scene. Many female candidates in local elections being held across the country this year have ties to sitting officials.
One example is Haryanti, the first wife of district head Sutrisno in Kediri. She ran against her husband's second wife, Nurlaila, for Sutrisno's vacant seat on May 12 and won.
Before the vote, Nurlaila said she was running because she was sick and tired of mismanagement – and allegations of corruption – within the Kediri administration. She received no political backing from her husband, who is ineligible to seek a third straight term and who, according to Nurlaila, backed his first wife.
"It was a challenge to face the first wife in this race. They did everything to sabotage my run for the seat," Nurlaila said.
Although familiar with politics from her previous job as village chief for 23 years, she said the race for district chief was a grind.
"It was extremely difficult for me to get a political vehicle. Many parties were sabotaged by the incumbent," she said, adding that she cut all communications with her husband before the election.
"They are now my political enemies," Nuraila said. "Political parties asked for money from me to get their support. That's a must, because I couldn't have run without their support."
Political analysts say women have a much tougher time getting elected than their male counterparts now that voters directly elect them, because they have fewer financial resources.
Despite losing, Nurlaila said she was proud to have run without any political backing from her husband. She also said celebrity candidates didn't need to be backed by local or even national political power brokers. "If you can be an actor, why should you be a puppet?" she said.
Angelina Sondakh, a former Miss Indonesia who is now a member of the House of Representative (DPR) from the Democratic Party, said women needed to genuinely fight for their roles and position in politics, not just be token candidates.
"What I learned in Parliament is that you have to fight to be heard and get what you want. We have to be fully equipped and resourceful, or else they think you know nothing," Sondakh said.
"The problem is, political parties only see women as dessert, not the main course," she said. "I also see female celebrities being used as puppets. I encourage women to be involved in decision making, not just become ceremonial officials."
Many celebrities, Sondakh said, had very little knowledge of politics and important issues, which was why they were easily manipulated. "They should negotiate about their exact role the second they are approached by political parties to be a candidate," she said.
Politics lecturer Maswadi Rauf, from the University of Indonesia, said many celebrity candidates lacked the capability, experience and knowledge to be good candidates.
"Most of them know nothing about politics, regardless of their gender," he said. "And political parties want the easiest and cheapest way to get votes. They both are responsible for this chaos."
Hungry for power
Money politics is an oft-made allegation during elections, but it's always very difficult to prove.
It was crystal clear, however, in the case of Ratih Sanggarwati, a former top model in the 1980s who earlier this month ran unsuccessfully for district chief of Ngawi, East Java.
Her humble house in the center of Ngawi was also her campaign headquarters. Ratih had secured support from two Islamic-based parties – the United Development Party (PPP) and the National Awakening Party (PKB).
What distinguished Ratih from her rivals was that her headquarters was open to the poor, especially local pedicab drivers, who were given three free meals a day. On the day that she outlined her platform and guiding vision at the local legislature building, about 700 of them rallied to support her.
"I support her because I want changes," said pedicab driver Sudarman, while tucking into breakfast at Ratih's house just before the May 12 election.
Everything about Sanggarwati's campaign seemed genuine enough until half an hour later, when one of her campaign team explained the scheduled activities for that day and then fielded questions from the assembled supporters.
One pedicab driver quickly raised his hand and asked: "Are we going to get money if we go with you today?"
When the campaign member replied "No!", most of the drivers immediately began leaving. One of them yelled, "Boo! Why should we hang out here if you don't give us money!"
"That is the reality of politics," said Deni, a member of the campaign team. "Its common knowledge that you have to spend at least Rp 8 billion ($864,000) to get 30 percent of the votes."
In Indonesia's era of direct, free and fair elections, money can buy political machinery and sway voters, and the women who are trying to get into the game can't seem to free themselves from this reality.
Angelina Sondakh said she despised the practice, saying it was bad for potential female candidates.
"I think women should stay out of politics if they have to pay for political support," she said. "That means the parties take everything: your money, your popularity, what else? You have no pride left.
"When you give voters Rp 30,000 each, you leave damage for five years. It's supposed to be your job to educate them. If we have abilities, we don't have to buy votes, we don't have to spend money for political vehicles."
Sondakh said she did not pay for political backers or votes to win a seat in the House. "Women should know what they're getting into, because it's going to be hell," she said.
"There is no such thing as a free lunch. That is part of the political deal, and I think it's not wrong. It is just business as usual in this country."