http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7985473.stm
last updated at 16:27 GMT, Wednesday, 8 April 2009 17:27 UK
Poll gives cash boost to Indonesians
Ahead of Indonesia's parliamentary elections, the BBC's Jakarta
correspondent Lucy Williamson looks at the unexpected benefits of the campaign.
Wati says she attends political rallies in order to earn money
If voters had political logos, Wati's would be cooking gas. It makes life
in her cramped kitchen a lot easier - she has 14 mouths to feed.
But there is not always the money to buy it these days. So sometimes,
here in central Jakarta, in 2009, Wati uses wood.
And as Indonesia's political candidates strut the campaign trail
promising shiny new economic miracles, the sooty stains have built up, layer
upon layer, on her kitchen ceiling.
But now Wati's found a quicker way for politics to improve her economy...
political rallies.
"I go for the money" she told me, giggling, "and the free T-shirts. The
first time, my friends said 'Come on - you get money if you go!' So I went..."
She pulls out the money she got for turning up last time - still crumpled
in the pocket of her house-dress. It's the equivalent of about $5 - enough to
feed her large and hungry family for about a day.
So far, Wati has been to five rallies - all run by different parties -
even though she already knows exactly who she'll vote for.
Economic boost
Political rallies are an election staple here. And so are all the things
that go with them: T-shirts, banners, flags, posters, free transport for
supporters, sound systems, dancers and food.
Business is booming for t-shirt makers ahead of the elections
All of this adds up to quite a lot of money. So much, in fact, that some
analysts believe this election is helping to protect Indonesia from the global
slowdown.
It has certainly made Ningsih's factory easier to find. The drone of
sewing machines hangs over the narrow alleyways around her house like a swarm
of bees.
Ningsih's garment factory used to make uniforms for local companies. The
global slowdown meant she was running at 50%, she says, but now she is working
flat out making t-shirts for some of Indonesia's biggest political parties.
It is hard to know exactly how much is being spent on campaign products -
parties here have to report their spending; individual candidates don't.
But with hundreds of thousands of people all trying to make their voices
heard in this election - and a new polling system that allows voters to pick
individual candidates rather than just their party - the economic boost could
be more than the government's own $6bn stimulus package.
Chasing the prize
Which might be good for the economy - but does it work for the
politicians?
Young men take part in a game called "panjat pinang" at a political
rally
According to Paul Rowland, who heads the Indonesian office of the
National Democratic Institute, money definitely has a role to play.
It is hard to run a campaign without it, he says, but it's not
everything.
"If you look at the results of the 2004 election in Indonesia, the two
parties who made the biggest gains were not the ones who spent the most money.
"So that indicates there was something else going on, and just spending
lots of money doesn't necessarily win you the election," he says.
Perhaps not, but it does seem to infect every aspect of the campaigning
here.
One election rally ended recently with a game known here as "panjat
pinang" - teams of young men racing up slippery poles to win the goodies at the
top.
Could there be a more fitting game for a political rally?
Global slowdown or not, this election makes one thing clear: people will
do a lot to get their hands on the prize.
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