Ezra Sihite & Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The NasDem Party sent out a warning to its rivals that it aims to be a serious contender in the 2014 elections as it added the financial and media clout of Hary Tanoesoedibjo on Wednesday.
Hary, who rules over the MNC media empire that includes television, radio, online and print media, is joining the four-month-old party as chairman of its Council of Experts.
"This move will bring more money into the party as well as social networks," said M. Romahurmuziy, the secretary general of the United Development Party (PPP).
NasDem already had plenty of media muscle, and cash, on its side with co-founder Surya Paloh, who owns the Media Indonesia daily newspaper and Metro TV. "The uniting of these two media powers will be able to influence swing voters," Romahurmuziy said.
But he said religious parties like the PPP, which is based on Islam, were unlikely to be affected by the entry of NasDem onto the political scene. "The ones who will be threatened are the Democrats and Golkar," he said.
Yunarto Wijaya, from political research institute Charta Politika, said two things made Hary's move to join NasDem interesting – media and money.
"But don't forget to look at their electoral strength," he said, One thing that will help NasDem, he said, if it comes out soon with its candidates for the 2014 presidential election.
"Indonesians still basically worship personalities and I have not yet seen any strong figures from NasDem," he said, adding that Surya had not yet declared whether he would run for president and Hary had not expressed an interest in the job.
Golkar Party's deputy secretary general, Nurul Arifin, also said NasDem was lacking any compelling personalities, which could hurt it come election time. "Media strength will mean nothing if they are lacking in personalities," Nurul said.
But Martin Hutabarat, chairman of the Greater Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), said Hary's decisoin to join NasDem could end up changing the game in 2014.
"He is a media magnate, be it in television or print, and he will make the 2014 election campaign tougher," Martin said. "The role of the media in building the image of a political party is a decisive factor."
Hary said he decided to throw his lot in with NasDem because the party offered him the best chance to forge a political career. "NasDem is a new party, so it's easier to modify and adapt," Hary said.
His foray into politics, he said, would offer him the chance to make a contribution to the country after having established himself as a successful businessman. "No matter what, as citizens we will always want to contribute," he said.
He also said he and Surya had a similar vision for the future of the country, and this shared bond helped him make up his mind to accept a position with the party.
He said he and Surya shared the same ideas on how to build the country. "We want to develop the country in a proactive and honest way, with hard work," he said.
NasDem chairman Patrice Rio Capella said while opening the party's national leadership meeting in Ancol, North Jakarta, on Tuesday that the party already had 4,607,954 members.
[Additional reporting Anita Rachman.]