The amount above only applies to those running at the Regent level. How about the Governor’s level? Each candidate requires funds of IDR 100 billion. With the same logic, your cukong has to be someone with more than IDR 500 billion in liquidity, so the IDR 100 billion funds spent to support a campaign for Governor is “only” 20 percent of his total savings.
Based on such data, only 265 accounts possess assets over IDR 500 billion. Again, the fate of Governor candidates in all 34 provinces relies on the 265 super-rich people with such accounts.
Now, what about the Presidential election? The KPK has not disclosed the funds needed for the Presidential election. However, based on mass media leaders who were offered a “ticket to run” by the General Chairmen of political parties, it would be worth more than IDR 1 trillion. This huge amount was confirmed as the minimum to be disbursed as a means for political parties to reach the 20 percent threshold.
If a Presidential candidate requires funds of IDR 1 trillion, the financier must be some crazy rich folk who can certainly gather their other fellow crazy rich to donate. Based on the data above, only 63 people in Indonesia are in possession of over IDR 1 trillion in saving accounts, which means these 63 tycoons control the Indonesian Presidential Election.
Note that these 63 tycoons also play at the regional level: governors and mayors/regents’ elections. It is certainly easier for regional head candidates to get donations directly from these tycoons, rather than getting support from the lower-level entrepreneurs. Donating to regents or regional head candidates is obviously easy-breezy for such masters of the universe.