Flag posts in the apple gardens of Batu

For many years, the apple has been the symbol of the town of Batu in Malang.  Most of the residents work as farmers in the surrounding apple gardens. Now, political parties have planted campaign flags in the gardens.

March 30 in the afternoon. A young student is walking slowly through the apple gardens of Bulukerto Village in Bumiaji Sub district, Malang Regency. All around there are apple trees but now there are also flags of political parties and banners with portraits of candidates in many sizes.

Bulukerto has about 6,000 residents. Most of them are apple farmers. This does not mean that they own the the gardens. They are just the farmers.

"Wallaikumsalam", a woman answers my greeting when I walk up to her house. In her hospitality, she allows me to enter. Sumaiyah (33) allows me to keep take my shoes on since the floor is very cold. A widow with two children, she even allows me to spend the night in her house during my visit of Batu.

After a few minutes, I meet Sumaiyah's father, Riono (59). "How is apple farming nowadays, sir?" I ask Riono, an owner of one of the apple gardens here. Riono says it is a hard situation because the pesticides used in the gardens are getting expensive. The price has risen by 500 percent since the economic crisis has started. Yet yields are diminishing and the price that he gets for his apples on the market is very low. Riono acknowledges that the local government subsidizes farmers to lower the price for fertilizers. But in fact it does not help much since the main input costs are the pesticides not the fertilizers. So, to lower production costs, he employs members of his family in the garden.

Riono does not expect too much from the promises of politicians. "Do not lie to us anymore" is Riono's message to them; "You promise us many things but you will never be able to realize it all." He has not decided yet as to which candidate he will support on Election Day.

The glass of tea served by Riono's wife is already empty. I take a walk around the neigbourhood meeting with Sulikanah (27), a farmer. For her daily work (6 hours) she is paid up to Rp.12.500 - about one US Dollar. When she works for a generous boss, she gets lunch for free. Unfortunately, Sulikanah does not have stable income prospects. "It depends on the harvest and the sales price of the apples. If there is enough of both, we have work and the owner has an income. The rich and the poor need each other." she says.

As I sit down in Sulikanah's house, a woman named Ponimi (44) comes in and joins us. Speaking about the upcoming election, Ponimi is adament to to use her political rights. For Ponimi and Sulikanah alike, using their political rights in the elections is very important. As Sulikanah puts it: "It is important because we lean to the view that the price of the basic needs should be reduced. We need our jobs to sustain ourselves." They acknowledge that they have no idea as to which of the legislative candidates they will elect, since none of them adress the rising prices of basic needs. Sulikanah and her husband, Yadiono, say that in this respect, they appreciated the certainties of the Soeharto era.

Our conversation was getting more lively when Ngati'ah (40), Sugiati (27), and Zuraida (22) joined, coming back from their prayers. These three farmers have also not decided yet on the legislative candidates they will vote for on April 9. "Perhaps, I will decide my choice three days before the election," says Sugiarti. (Any Rufaidah, Malang)