Carlos Paath – Indonesian political party officials are publicly adamant that TV stars' ready-made public profiles have nothing to do with their selection as legislative candidates.
Just ask Eriko Sotarduga, deputy secretary general of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P). "We preselect celebrities not because of their high profile or popularity, but because they're already coming up through the party ranks and are actively involved in party activities," Eriko said in Jakarta on Tuesday.
"Not only that, but the results of interviews and psychological testing has to show they're a good fit with the electorate they'll be standing in, that's an important consideration," he said.
Himself a member of the House of Representatives, Eriko added that all would-be candidates had to undergo the same selection process, "whether they're actors, youth activists, businesspeople or whatever their backgrounds may be."
The Golkar Party also denied it was currying favor with the electorate by choosing popular celebrities.
"It's the same for everyone. Any actors we put forward have to undergo orientation training that includes studying the party ideology, organizational skills, political issues, branding, communications and campaign strategy," said Golkar deputy secretary general Nurul Arifin.
Golkar has had garnered votes in the past by filling ballot papers with celebrity names including Charles Bonar Sirait, Nurul Arifin, Tantowi Yahya and Tetty Kadi Bawono. Not to be outdone, the Democratic Party has nominated Dede Yusuf, Yenny Rahman, Anwar Fuady, Inggrid Kansil, Venna Melinda and Nurul Qomar. Meanwhile, the PDI-P's stables house singer Edo Kondolongit, TV presenters Niko Siahaan and Sonny Tulung, film star Yessy Gusman and TV star Rieke Dyah Pitaloka.
Rieke is perhaps the exception to many in the previous list who seem to have scant qualifications as legislators – far from the clueless character she played in a popular TV sitcom, Rieke holds two undergraduate degrees and a master's degree in philosophy, and before taking up public office had become a published author.
Sutan Bhatoegana, a Democrat legislator, conceded that his party viewed celebrities as crucial in bringing in the vote. "But besides their vote-gathering capabilities, we also want them because they are public figures," he said.
The Democrats lost two celebrity legislators last year: singer Theresia "Tere" Pardede, who quit for family reasons, and Angelina Sondakh, a former Miss Indonesia pageant winner, who was convicted in a corruption case.