Indonesia's regional elections will give the Californian "Governator" Arnold Schwarznegger a run for his money. Recently, residents of West Java elected Indonesia's very own Dede Yusuf as "vice-governator" of the province -his running mate was the virtually-unknown Ahmad Heryawan from nowheresville. Before that, senior actor Rano Karno "Si Doel" was elected vice regent of Tangerang (not sure about the term "regent" and "regency" though, any correction is welcome).
The 2004 elections also saw many celebs enter the House, including Marissa Haque, Adjie Massaid, Komar, and Angelina Sondakh, to name a very few. Other celebs also ran the contest although with less luck; blame the ridiculous numbering system. Rieke "Oneng" Diah Pitaloka and Nurul Arifin belong to this category.
As more regional elections are coming up, more stars are being talked into running for office. At this point, you should've known that someone will get trashtalked soon, but first things first. Many sources (i.e.: infotainments) had indicated that Oneng from PDIP will contest the seat of Bandung's vice mayor. Comedian Ulfa Dwiyanti and musician Ikang Fawzi's names are also thrown around as a candidate for somewhere's election.
This is the trashtalk section. Reports (again, infotainment) say that PPP will nominate well-known (who said that?) dangdut singer and Dewi Persik's husband Saiful Jamil for vice-something of Serang. And no, it's not about whether he's gay or not: I don't mind whatever his sexual orientation is. It's just that his track record isn't been the brightest of all. He doesn't have any political experience, yet he has a rather "colorful" history in the gossip world. His answers during interviews are simply dangdut-ish, with no real substance. If that doesn't say "vote-getter", I don't know what does, "Yeah, everyone just shake your body to the polls". The people of Serang will really just go "blurgh" over him, won't they?
Anyway, celebrities aren't barred from running for office. They are also citizens of Indonesia with their full rights to express their opinion, to be active in politics, and to run for office. No one can take those rights from them; therefore, it's up to the people now. Can they see through the glitter of the stars and make the best choice? For example, Oneng and Rano Karno have credible background, and they have had quite a lot political experience before. But Saiful Jamil? We're not that desperate.
To improve our condition, everyone must stop voting for the bling. Voting a candidate based only on his/her fame (or infamy) rather than capability will only destroy the goal of the election itself. It will only make the voters suffer more.
Indonesia has really taken the concept of Dancing with the Stars to a whole new level, it's "Running with the Stars" now. Madame Ivan Gunawan for President, anyone?
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