Markus Junianto Sihaloho & SP/Robertus Wardi – They can sing, dance, act and walk the runway, but the question on voters' minds is whether they represent the people and can pass quality legislation.
Political parties in Indonesia have a long history of luring celebrities to join them and run as their legislative candidates in the hopes that they will win. Next year's legislative election looks to be no different.
The United Development Party (PPP) is the latest to announce it is targeting celebrities to join its ranks, saying it is already in talks with at least eight.
On Friday Arwani Thomafi, a PPP deputy secretary general, named '80s model Okky Asokawati, former model-turned-entrepreneur Ratih Sanggarwati, '80s singer Emilia Contessa, pop band Ungu frontman Sigit "Pasha" Purnomo Syamsuddin Said and up-and-coming dangdut singer Nassar as possible candidates in the 2014 polls.
Arwani did not identify the other three celebrities but added that some of those approached by the PPP had agreed to run.
PPP secretary general Mochammad Romahurmuziy said his party had been "very selective" in the celebrities it approached. Ones with a "bad image or deemed incompetent by the public will not get votes."
The National Mandate Party (PAN), known for its raft of celebrity legislators, said on Monday that at least five celebrities had applied to run with the party.
"Those who have registered are Marissa Haque, Ikang Fawzi, Hengky Kurniawan, Lucky Hamzah and Rafi Ahmad," said PAN secretary general Taufik Kurniawan.
Marissa is an '80s film star, while her husband, Ikang, was also a film star and singer. Hengky and Lucky are both sinetron (soap opera) stars. Rafi is a TV presenter who has also tried his hand at acting.
Taufik said that his party did not prioritize celebrities, arguing that they would have to go through the same rigorous screening process as non-celebrity hopefuls. "It all comes down to their political performance," he added.
The Golkar Party was the first to recruit celebrities for the 2014 elections. In May, it announced actress Desy Ratnasari, singers Ari Lasso, Katon Bagaskara and former beauty queen Artika Sari Devi as already undergoing Golkar's yearlong "internship" program, preparing them to run for positions in the House of Representatives.
In August, pollster Charta Politika released a study showing only 16.7 percent of Indonesians wanted celebrities to run for the House, while 62 percent were strongly opposed. The rest were undecided.
Celebrities-turned-legislators criticized the survey, including comedian and PAN legislator Eko Hendro Purnomo.
"This survey does not represent all 230 million Indonesians," he said at the time. "No celebrities have ever been involved in corruption."
He was speaking months before the Jakarta Anti-Corruption Court sentenced former beauty queen and Democratic Party legislator Angelina Sondakh to four and a half years in prison for bid-rigging.
PAN is also home to former actor Primus Yustisio and actress Raslina Rashidin. The Democrats boast singer Tere and actress Vena Melinda, while the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) has actress Rachel Maryam and singer Jamal Mirdad in the House.
Ari Junaedi, a political communications expert at the University of Indonesia, said some celebrities had fared well in politics, such as '80s film star Nurul Arifin, who joined Golkar, as well as sinetron star Rieke Dyah Pitaloka and comedian Dedi Gumilar, both with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).
But people like Nurul and Rieke are rare, Ari said, while the rest are mostly just nominated as vote-getters who contribute little once they become politicians.
"They only make headlines when they have domestic problems or open up a new cafe, and most remain preoccupied with their own television shows," he said.
He added that the phenomenon of celebrities running for the House would hold strong in next year's legislative election. "Parties will try to attract celebrities to boost their votes," Ari said.
"But parties could see their strategies backfire if the celebrities get the spotlight just for personal problems instead of their contribution to the nation. Eventually the people these celebrities represent will become more critical of their behavior. People will no longer need [the] good looks or beauty or glamour that these celebrities offer, but the personal touch of someone who can understand their pain and change things for the better."