Supra-natural Candidacy

Let’s take a look at our television programs recently.. Most of them are competing to provide as detail information as possible to the public about the upcoming general election. Debates among legislature candidates; profiles of parties; and mass-crowded campaign are some. In this 4 days to the day of election [pencontrengan], many parties, especially those recognized as big parties, show their “power” by coloring Gelora Bung Karno and any other large area around Indonesia. But, are we sure that mass coming to the campaign is really showing their sympathy? No, I am not..

This is what I will call as supra-natural candidacy. Once I went to Bandung, in a bus, there was a man talking about a campaign of a big party which at that time trapped the bus in a jam because of its crowd. He told me that people coming, crowding, the campaign had received money from the party. Each person got Rp. 20.000,00. For those who used motorcycle, which means consist of two persons, would get Rp. 50.000,00. He made it real by saying that he was one of the people in his region who were offered the money. I was surprised, although not really. One made me surprised at the time was the number of person coming to the campaign. I predicted there were thousands of people marching on the road, going to Gazebo. If one person can get at least Rp. 20.000,00, then how much the committee should provide money totally?

Some people wore t-shirt stated the name of legislature candidate. I believe that the money came from them, from the candidates. The question is, are they rich entirely? Or, if not, how come they provide such huge amount of money?

No matter what the question is, I still wonder that parties and their candidates get plausible attention from the people like what I saw. It’s a supra-natural candidacy, isn’t it? You don’t have to know the persons, you don’t have to convince them with your programs and vision, but you will get a massive shout and yell for you,, amazing!