The Indonesian Family Welfare Guidance Programme (PKK) and the Revitalisation of Corporatist state organisations: A Case Study of the Mobilisation of Support for Dewanti Rumpoko in the 2017 Batu Municipal Election

Abstract

This article is intended to explore the use of the Family Welfare Guidance Programme (Pembinaan Kesejahteraan Keluarga, PKK) in the Municipality of Batu by one candidate as a means of mobilising political support during the 2017 municipal election. Within the current democratic climate, it is interesting to examine how the PKK, as a state corporate organisation that should ideally remain politically neutral, can be exploited to mobilise political support. The main argument of this article is that several factors, including deep-rooted hierarchies, top-down instruction, and clientelism enabled the PKK to be exploited by the incumbent in her mobilisation of political support. To sidestep the principle of neutrality and support the incumbent, PKK cadres used various means during the municipal election. The data for this article was collected using the qualitative approach, with in-depth interviews and participatory observation over the course of the Batu municipal election (January–February 2017).