The Story of a Democratic Windfall

· 5 minutes read

Wendri Wandriana, 38, has no free time. His expertise in editing videos is turning out to be a blessing in disguise. From January to mid-March, he had 50 incoming orders from all over Indonesia.

Wendri has no qualms about taking orders from candidates from different parties who are running for the legislature. All are serviced as soon as possible, as long as they agree to pay between Rp 200,000 and Rp 800,000 per video.

All are made on computers at his home in Laksana Mekar village, Padalarang district, West Bandung regency, West Java. A 3 meter by 4 m room is used as his work space. Wendri also edits wedding videos. "Whether it is expensive or cheap depends on the amount of material and time of manufacture. The materials are photos or videos that are usually sent directly by the candidates. Edited in one or two days, one video on average lasts for one minute. My job is to make the videos as interesting as possible," Wendri said on Wednesday.

It all started accidentally. Together with Eki, 37, and Purba, 40, he was concerned about the trash that was produced during campaign periods, like posters and banners.

"We wanted to reduce it through technology," Eki said.

Their first project was to edit a video of a friend who was competing as a legislative candidate. The results were satisfying. They became well-known through word of mouth and social media promotion and eventually founded the WEP Project.

Apart from West Java, orders have also been streaming in from West Nusa Tenggara up to South Sulawesi. "One candidate can request four videos. The video format can be shared via WhatAapp," Eki said.

Now, they don’t just edit. Wendri, together with four to five crew members, also makes videos of the candidates.

Almost three weeks before voting starts on April 17, he is busy until late at night. He is currently working on a video for legislative candidates in Banyumas regency, Central Java. Orders have also come in from five legislative candidates in Central Java, North Sumatra, West Sumatra and East Java.

Lack of customers

For conventional campaigners, it is quite different because the high cost and effectiveness of conventional campaigns are being questioned. As a result, the marketing opportunities for around 250,000 candidates throughout Indonesia are under threat.

A case in point is Lesu Ratna, 35, who make of campaign material in Medan, North Sumatra. Some candidates from a political party recently canceled orders for 1,200 T-shirts. The chairperson of the political party was arrested by the Corruption Eradication Commission.

Long before the cancelation, Ratna predicted that she would be under pressure. In the digital age, campaign material is no longer the main choice for candidates. Social media has made it easier and cheaper to promote themselves.

Five years ago, she received orders from 50 candidates, now, it’s down to 15. "In the past, one candidate would order 500 banners. Now, only 50 banners are being ordered," said Ratna.

Kayla, 50, a T-shirt printing entrepreneur, said the slowdown was caused by the increasingly expensive price of making campaign material. In 2014, the price of a printed T-shirt was Rp 12,000 per piece. It has now doubled. The price of small party flags has also soared, from Rp. 3,500 to Rp 7,000 each.

According to Dameria Pangaribuan, 39, of North Sumatra legislative candidates in the electoral district of Medan 2 were spending less on campaign material because it was considered to be less effective. Campaign strategies now focus on door-to-door campaigns and getting candidates’ messages across on social media.

In Bandung, the national T-shirt printing giant is also sluggish.

Vivi, 41, the owner of a T-shirt printing company on Jl. Surapati, said she only received 20,000 T-shirt orders this year, down from 30,000 five years ago. "I\'m lucky there are still customers who trust us. Regardless whether it is big or small, I take it. From 100 to 8,000 pieces per order," he said.

In Surabaya, although T-shirt printing orders are falling, Subandi, 35, chose to play it safe. "I just make them for legislative candidates who have already paid," he said.

He is worried that some candidates will not pay him if they lose.

Opportunity

Understanding the changing times, M Ikbal, 32, the owner of Punggawa printing in Makassar, South Sulawesi, has special offers. There is a bonus system, such as the number of printed T-shirts exceeding the order, as well as special prices. "So far, we have 25 permanent customers, generally city, provincial and central legislative candidates," Ikbal said.

His ability to carefully read the market allows him to operate a banner-making machine, which has a capacity of 1,000 meters. In the last five months, Ikbal’s turnover has skyrocketed from Rp 50 million per month to Rp 80 million. He employs 10 contract workers whom he pays Rp 25,000 to Rp 50,000 per day.

However, amid the abundant economic blessings during the election period, Airlangga Pribadi Kusman, who is a political science lecturer at Airlangga University in Surabaya, East Java, said political contestation must be seen as a whole. The public, including those who enjoyed the economic benefits, must be aware that they have a role to play when choosing qualified legislative candidates, he added.

In other words, they need to be careful when voting. The fate of Indonesia in the next five years is in our hands.

(SEM/NSA/RTG/REN/BRO)

Editor:

kompascetak