What do the People Think?

The latest issue here is about opinion polls. It seems that some parties have been "ordering" opinion polls with the results they want to see. Meanwhile, a section of the electorate seems thoroughly disillusioned by the whole process.

Firstly, look at the varying opinion poll "results". For example, over the last three months, according to Tempo magazine (19/1/2009), President SBY's Democrat Party has been on top in the polls by between 2 and 9 percent. Then suddenly two polls from the Indonesian Survey Circle (Lingkaran Survey Indonesia) and the National Survey Institute (Lembaga Survei Nasional) show Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) ahead by 11.7% and 8.8% respectively. Funny that. To help readers work out if anything untoward is going on, see if you can guess the answers to these questions:

1) Do the polling organizations have the same HQ and leadership?
2) Is the Indonesian Survey Circle acting as a political consultant for the PDIP?

More astute observers will have correctly guessed the answer is "YES" to both. Not exactly known for its principled stance on anything, the PDIP is up to its usual tricks to try and convince undecided voters that it is popular and therefore worth a vote.

Meanwhile, Kompas newspaper has been printing text messages sent in by its readers. Here are some example comments:

• "First the candidates hurt the trees by nailing their pictures up. Then they hurt us by conning us"
• "The people don't believe any more. What's the point in an election: it's a waste of money. After all the result will be new corrupt people...."
• "Do you want a big salary, a house and respect? All you have to do is turn up, listen, sit quietly and you receive money for 5 years. Register now as a legislative candidate"
• The main reason ... why candidates stand in the election is that they want to be rich... not to help the people."
• "As long as parties and their members are still as corrupt as they are now, the most realistic choice is not to vote. Don't legalize corruption by voting in the election."

Of course these are just the mobile phone-owning newspaper-reading classes. The parties must be praying it is easier to pull the wool over the eyes of the silent majority.