Balinese voters will find a nice surprise when they open the ballot card in the upcoming 2009 legislative election: a strikingly foreign face among the more familiar Indonesian candidates on show. The face is that of Petra Odebrecht, the first foreign-born candidate in the history of the province’s legislative elections, and a member of the Renewal Democratic Party (PDP).

Petra, who calls herself an ex-foreigner, gained Indonesian citizenship in 1992, after marrying her former husband, an Indonesian, and leaving her home country Germany to live in Indonesia ever since. “It’s a time of big change in Indonesia, and by staying seated nothing changes. That’s why I decided to get politically active,” Petra says.

The PDP was established in December 2005 when senior leaders of the nationalist Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) split, after a group led by Laksamana Sukardi lost a bitter fight to reform the party at its national congress. The party, which has a leadership council rather than a single leader, has become the 14th new party to register since the 2004 elections.

“I joined the PDP because of its collective system; everyone there has equal say. Also, 42 percent of the members are women. In Bali, even with the official requirement of a 30 percent quota for women, we have four women as legislative candidates and four men,” Petra says. Petra has already experienced her share of the murky reality of the country’s politics.

She tells of the time she went to a factory and the workers asked her how much she would pay them for their votes, rather than ask about her political views and how they would benefit the people. “This showed me once more that I need to try to wake people up, especially the young, to engage in politics, because I believe a nation rises and falls with its politics,” she says.

Last year, Rusty Ambo Dalle, one of the PDP’s national leaders, asked Petra to run for the party. But Petra says she was unsure at the time about what kind of reform the people wanted and how the change would happen. However, three months ago, she gathered all the required documents and put herself in the running as a legislative candidate. “The strong, pluralistic direction of our party made me ask Petra to join our party. As an Indonesian citizen with foreign roots, she fits well into our party,” Ambo Dalle says.

“I’m well aware my skin color and my origin are used as marketing gimmicks, but I want to transform this energy into power to contribute to a democracy that everybody, regardless of their financial background, has access to,” she says. The 41-year-old, with no former political background, is ranked fifth out of eight on the PDP’s list of candidates running for seats at the Bali Legislative Council.

“I know what my chances are in the legislative elections, and even if I’m not elected, I will try to work in the background as an assistant for my party colleagues,” she said. Campaigning in Bali will run from March 16 to April 5, 2009, when Petra Odebrecht will get the first feedback on how well the Balinese can receive a foreign-born candidate.

News written by Claudia Sardi
Published on The Jakarta Post