Courtesy of Cokelat
The 48 parties competing in the coming elections are going in full colors. There are various shades of blue with combinations of red and white to choose from. There are different tones of yellow – from bright to orange. Not to forget different mixtures green and black. Does the earthy brown entice you? Or you would rather go for the pitch black?
Whatever your favorite colors, do not choose white, a popular band Cokelat urges through their new song “Five minutes for Five Years”.
“Let’s choose the best for this country. Five minutes for voting, five years we’ll move on. Don’t be a white (because) our voice means a lot,” sang the five-member pop group in front of the General Election Commission (KPU) on Wednesday, to cheers of the commissioners.
Their new song was meant to encourage voters to cast their voice in the April legislative election and July presidential election.
“Some people may find it troublesome to go down to the ballot box to make their choice. We want to highlight how easy it is and how importance the results are. We hope people will think, tick and oversee the performance of their choice,” the guitarist Edwin Marshall Syarif, who wrote the song, said.
Abstaining or going ‘golput’ (short for ‘golongan putih’, the white movement) is constitutional here as voting is a right in Indonesia, unlike a number of countries like Australia, Argentina, Turkey and Belgium which have made it obligation.
But fears of large numbers of empty ballots have led the Indonesian Ulema Council to issue a fatwa stating that ‘golput’ is haram – a line that campaigners like to reiterate in their public addresses. Others fear the abuse of empty ballots if scores of people skip polling day on April 9 out of will, ignorance or laziness – and hence miss their chance, however slim, to pick the best available candidates.
The Cokelat members share this concern. With a wide following mainly among the young including first-time voters, they know they can contribute.
Like their peers, they were once discouraged against political involvement; under second president’s Soeharto New Order, you were either for or against those in power.
The “white movement” started as a protest from intellectuals against the authoritarian New Order. Then voters could only choose from the three government-influenced parties: green for United Development Party (PPP), yellow for the ruling Golkar Party and red for Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI).
The ‘reformasi’ in 1998 saw a healthier trend, the awareness that voting is voluntary, not because civil servants feared for their jobs, or that soldiers were accompanying candidates from the ruling party from door to door. But participation declined, with people citing disillusion or boredom with the frequent direct elections. This has led to many fearing the imminent legitimacy of election results.
The 2004 election saw over 23 percent non-voting rate, twice the number in previous eight elections where the number hovered at less than 10 percent. This, coupled with the high number of undecided voters, may result to more than 30 percent non-voting rate this time, observers say.
“It is true that there are so many promises and many are lies. Lies do not exist only during election, we face it everyday. We cannot cower down. Even if they make promises but sit silent in the House. If they are corrupt, now we have KPK to catch them all,” Edwin said, citing the anti graft body which has gained popularity for catching politicians and officials in bribery attempts.
“That is no reason to be cynical and do nothing. If you don’t cast your vote, you should not complain anymore. If you want to complain, then just take up the role as leaders who do something. Don’t just blame others while you don’t dare to take responsibility,” Edwin told The Jakarta Post.
Even Namara ‘Kikan’ Surtikanti whose mother , Ade Indira, resigned from the House of Representatives for “disagreeing with the work ethics of her colleagues” is still optimistic.
“My mother has her reason to resign from office but she still tells me not to be cynical. I must still be concerned about the country and participate in the democratic process,” Kikan, the lead vocalist, said.
“A lot of Indonesians are cynical and do not want to vote. Some say exercising non-voting is another form of exercising their right to vote. But it is time to take responsibility over your voting rights. You have to think about [politics] too... Change does not have to mean involving anarchy, but it can take the form of casting your vote,” she said.
She worried that many among her peers did not appreciate the power of one single ballot, forgetting that “many of those single voices put someone in power.”
Bassist Febrianto Nugroho Surjono, known as Ronny, admitted he had been “a white” in previous elections but then had a change of heart.
“I thought there would be no effect even if I voted. No matter who won, things would not get better. But … Indonesia has become a democratic country that has gained international acknowledgement and the 2004 election was a success.”
“I felt bad because I was a hypocrite,” Ronny adds. “I sang ‘For you my Indonesia’ but I was not even willing to cast a vote. So I felt the calling to do something to encourage young people who do not know what is a party, who are candidates, to find out more,” he said.
They urge their fans and anyone else who’ll listen to do all they need ahead of voting, especially to know more about the parties and the candidates.
“The young spend so much time on the Internet, so much time on Facebook. If only they are willing, they definitely can find out more about the parties,” Ronny, said.
Ronny got to know the parties first from the posters and banners, then he would check their websites, he said.
“If you do not have Internet connection, you can visit their offices. If you are too confused by the many legislative candidates, just choose the party. If we can know which celebrities are divorcing, it is impossible if we cannot find out the programs of each political party,” he said, citing the “infotainment” news on celebrities that many are obsessed with.
However, Kikan and Ronny understand that much more needs to be done to make politics a mainstream conversation topic.
“When we were in university, being involved in politics was a taboo. Some were still involved in politics in campus until there was a ban. So we felt that political involvement was uncool,” Ronny said.
“But I watched the public service announcements made by Leonardo diCaprio that show that your vote is important. It makes me think that it is okay to get involved in politics,” he added.
The actor made the advertisement last year to promote voting in the United States, a country with a history of low turnouts compared to countries like Indonesia.
Beyond voting, the pop stars do not rule out the future possibility of running for office.
“If we have a vision, good intentions and have the capability, why not?” Ronny said.
Kikan, however, is more reserved, saying politics is not her cup of tea.
The group said that they have received some request to performed at campaigns, which they welcome, but vowed to stay neutral.
“We don’t want to be hypocrite about that. The campaigning period is a good time for musicians but we make sure that we do not appear to support any party,” the drummer Ernest Fardiyan Sjarif said.
“We will perform as entertainers, not mouthpieces. We have made a clear line about that. We will not even wear the party’s attributes like t-shirts,” Kikan said.
Cokelat, formed in 1996, has been well-known for their patriotic songs. Their song “Bendera” (The Flag), released in 2002, has almost become an anthem at public ceremonies and “Suara Kemenangan” (Voice of Victory), written to cheer the Thomas and Uber Cup badminton team last year, became cheering must. Sealing the record, they released an album Untukmu Indonesiaku (For you my Indonesia) in 2006.
Name: Edwin Marshal Syarif
Alias: Edwin
Date of birth: March 19, 1975
Idol: Edward Van Hellen
Favorite musician: Joe Satriani
Favorite food: Oxtail soup
Favorite song: “Jump”
Name: Ervin Syam Ilyas
Alias: Ervin
Position: Drummer
Date of Birth: November 27, 1973
Idol: Iwan Fals
Favorite musician: Dave Grohl, Sting
Favorite song: “Love is Stronger Than Justice”
Name: Febrianto Nugroho Surjono
Alias: Ronny
Date of birth: Jakarta, February 26, 1974
Idol: Sting, Michael Schumacher
Favorite song : “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic”
Name : Ernest Fardiyan Sjarif
Alias: Ernest
Position: Guitarist
Date of birth: January 9 1979
Idol: Alesandro Del Piero
Favorite musicians: Radiohead, Collective Soul, System Of a Down, 311, Bob Marley, TLC
Favorite song: “Wish You Were Here”, “Nothing Gonna Change My Love For You”
Name: Namara Surtikanti
Alias: Kikan
Position: Vocalist
Date of Birth: September 9, 1976
Favorite musician: Dolores O’Riordan
(The Cranberries)
Favorite song: Carole King’s “Now & Forever “
Inspiration: herself and her friends.
Biggest worry: dying creativity
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