Relawan Calon Presiden nomor urut 02 mengikuti jalan sehat di kawasan Lapangan Banteng, Jakarta, Sabtu (2/2/2019). Kegiatan jalan sehat tersebut diselenggarakan oleh relawan Roemah Djoeang Prabowo-Sandi.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The fluid nature of political volunteering means that volunteers may change their support if certain figures fail to meet their expectations. These expectations can be either personal or pragmatic and may influence their activities to a point where it can no longer be seen as 100 percent volunteering.
The fluidity of volunteer support can be seen in both presidential camps. Volunteers who supported Prabowo-Subianto-Hatta Rajasa in 2014 have switched sides to back Joko Widodo-Ma’ruf Amin in 2019; similarly, those who supported Jokowi-Jusuf Kalla in 2014 have now decided to back Prabowo-Sandiaga Uno.
Guntur Siregar, the former secretary-general of the Projo volunteer group that backed Jokowi in 2014, is just one volunteer who has switched sides. He supported Jokowi-Kalla in 2014, but is now the deputy chair of the Benteng Prabowo volunteer group backing Prabowo-Sandiaga.
“I never asked for anything, but care for volunteers was lacking. We didn’t understand who was playing,” Guntur said over the phone on Monday (11/2/2019) in Jakarta, when asked why he switched his support.
On the other hand, Rustam Effendi Nainggolan supported Prabowo-Hatta in 2014 and now chairs Nusantara for Jokowi (N4J), a group of Jokowi supporters headquartered in Medan that claims to have around 200,000 members across 31 provinces.
Rustam said he had switched sides because he agreed more with Jokowi today. He said he had no ideological boundaries or political platforms in deciding whom to support.
ISTANA KEPRESIDENAN/AGUS SUPARTO
Calon Presiden Joko Widodo (tengah) berswafoto dengan massa Forum Alumni Jawa Timur di Surabaya, Jawa Timur, Sabtu (2/2/2019).
Antithesis to parties
Volunteer director Maman Imanulhaq of the Jokowi-Ma’ruf national campaign team said that volunteers were the antithesis to political parties. If the parties had a clear structure, ideology and political line, volunteers did not.
Maman said that the fluid and pragmatic nature of volunteer movements meant that the volunteers could easily change sides if they did not feel adequately appreciated.
He affirmed that the campaign team deeply appreciated their volunteers for all their work. Maman said that volunteers were appointed to positions like commissioners of state-owned enterprises through a merit-based selection process, not in return for their campaign services.
Fadli Zon of the Prabowo-Sandiaga national campaign team’s steering committee said there remained the possibility that volunteers could obtain certain government positions as a form of appreciation. The
important thing was that the volunteers possessed the competency and background suitable to these positions.
Individual contributions
Rustam said that volunteers typically worked without pay in helping certain political figures secure their victory. However, with their growing contributions to such victories, expectations also grew that they would be appreciated fairly. “There is hope that our colleagues’ work will be appreciated for the next five years. However, that is not our main expectation. We hope that Jokowi does not change and remains committed to fighting for the people,” he said.
Women Supporting Prabowo-Sandiaga (Pepes) national chair Wulan said that her volunteer group did not expect anything in return. She stressed that the group had never received any money from political parties or legislative candidates at campaign events.
“We recruit members based on their commitment to give all they have. Some members have quit, as they cannot remain committed,” she said.
Roemah Djoeang volunteer coordinator Pius Lustrilanang shared her view. He said that volunteers in the pro-Prabowo-Sandiaga group used their own money in funding campaigns, printing T-shirts, banners and stickers.
