CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by Sydney eScholarship What’s in a Symbol? Emerging Parties and Anti-Corruption Symbols in Indonesia’s 2014 National Legislative Election Campaigns A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Elisabeth Anne Kramer Department of Indonesian Studies The University of Sydney 2015 This thesis is my own original work. It contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the text. Clearance was obtained from the University of Sydney Human Research Ethics Committee for the project. Signed ……………………………………………………………………. Table of Contents Abbreviations .............................................................................................................................................. ii A note on currency ................................................................................................................................... v A note on Indonesian terms ................................................................................................................ v Abstract ......................................................................................................................................................... vi Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................................ viii Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. x Indonesia’s political system ................................................................................................... 5 Emerging political parties ....................................................................................................... 7 Emerging parties and the 2014 elections ...................................................................... 10 Methodology .............................................................................................................................. 14 Limitations ................................................................................................................................. 19 Outline of thesis ....................................................................................................................... 20 1. Political symbols, campaigns and corruption ................................................................... 25 Symbols ....................................................................................................................................... 27 Symbols in campaigns ....................................................................................................... 29 Developing a narrative ...................................................................................................... 32 Symbol diffusion across scales ........................................................................................... 36 Why (anti)corruption symbols? ........................................................................................ 40 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 44 2. Tracing the history of anti‐corruption .................................................................................. 47 After Independence ................................................................................................................ 48 Defending Guided Democracy ....................................................................................... 54 The New Order ......................................................................................................................... 56 Corruption and the fall of Suharto ............................................................................... 64 Reformasi .................................................................................................................................... 70 Presidential pressures ...................................................................................................... 71 The rise of Yudhoyono ...................................................................................................... 76 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 78 3. Politics and corruption, 2009–2014 ....................................................................................... 81 The 2004 and 2009 elections ............................................................................................. 81 An unstable coalition ......................................................................................................... 85 Corruption and anti‐corruption as political themes ................................................. 86 Attacks on the KPK ............................................................................................................. 87 Centurygate ........................................................................................................................... 90 The driving simulator procurement case .................................................................. 93 The case of Gayus ................................................................................................................. 95 The travellers’ cheque scandal ....................................................................................... 96 Corruption in the Directorate General of Customs and Excise ......................... 97 Corruption in local government .................................................................................... 98 The fall of the Democrats .................................................................................................. 99 The fall of PKS ..................................................................................................................... 102 Corruption in the Constitutional Court .................................................................... 104 Public opinion ......................................................................................................................... 106 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 111 4. Emerging parties and campaigning on corruption ...................................................... 113 The anti‐corruption strategy ............................................................................................ 114 Creating and mobilizing the symbol .............................................................................. 117 Party publications ............................................................................................................. 118 Party leaders ....................................................................................................................... 121 Parties in the media ......................................................................................................... 124 Parties’ Online Presence ................................................................................................ 129 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 135 5. Candidates on the campaign trail .......................................................................................... 137 Hanura, East Java ................................................................................................................... 139 Nasdem, South Sulawesi ..................................................................................................... 151 Gerindra, North Sumatra .................................................................................................... 158 Intra‐party relationships .................................................................................................... 166 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 169 6. A successful strategy? ................................................................................................................... 173 Justifying the use of an anti‐corruption symbol ....................................................... 173 Salient and primed ........................................................................................................... 175 The art of persuasion ...................................................................................................... 176 Candidates matter ............................................................................................................ 180 Diffusion of symbols ............................................................................................................. 183 Mixed messages ..................................................................................................................... 188 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 193 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................... 195 Appendices ...............................................................................................................................................