Given the significant role that popular figures play in boosting a party's vote share, many parties in the 2009 elections relied on these figures to enhance their electoral performance. Numerous well-known individuals, including academics, artists, and athletes, were recruited by political parties to become members and even candidates. In PDIP, figures like Diyah Pitaloka from the entertainment world and Miing, a comedian, were included. In the Democratic Party, there were Komar, a comedian, and Aji Massa’id and Angelia Sondah, both from the entertainment industry. Golkar also had Indra J. Piliang from academia, Icuk Sugiarto from sports, and Tantowi Yahya from media. PAN included Wanda Hamidah, Primus, and Ikang Fauji from the entertainment sector, as well as Eko Patrio and Mandra from comedy. PAN, with a large number of candidates from the entertainment world, even had its acronym humorously altered to “Partai Artis Nasional” (National Artists' Party).
The recruitment pattern observed in the 1999 elections revealed the dominant role of top party leaders, both at the national and regional levels, in determining legislative candidates. In elections using the closed-list proportional system, the allocation of votes was strictly a party prerogative, deciding to whom the voters' votes would go. This system created an oligarchic power structure within parties, where decision-making was centralized among a small elite, determined to maintain their control. Under such conditions, many party cadres showed their loyalty, particularly to party leaders, to secure nominations for candidacy or even just to become party officials.
Moreover, given the value of structural party power, competition for control within the party became fierce, even to the point of conflict. Power struggles within party leadership were evident in the Malang Raya region, most notably the dual leadership issue within PAN Malang, involving Darul Komar and Prof. Kaprawi, SH., which was not quickly resolved, despite intervention from PAN's central management.
When determining legislative candidates, proximity to party leaders became the dominant factor. Candidates seeking nomination often contributed money to the party, claiming it was for electoral victory. Party strongholds became coveted electoral districts with high stakes for becoming a candidate.
In the 2009 election, the voting system shifted again to an open-list proportional system (without BPP), which significantly altered party strategies. No longer could parties solely rely on their internal networks; they needed to find popular figures from outside the party with high acceptability and electability to list as candidates. This system encouraged a more pragmatic approach to power struggles both within the party and in the broader electoral competition.
The new system led to significant changes in the political landscape of Malang Raya, with parties openly recruiting candidates from outside their ranks, believing these individuals would bring advantages to the party. The reasons a person could be recruited, even if not a party member, were primarily because they had social capital (such as being a religious or political figure or community leader) or economic capital (wealthy individuals, typically businesspeople, capable of funding election campaigns).
Thus, the shift from party-based voting to candidate-based voting in the 2009 legislative elections diminished the influence of ideological approaches. Party members could easily switch parties as long as they were accepted as candidates, without regard for ideological or historical identity. Likewise, parties were willing to accept anyone as a candidate, provided they had the necessary political or economic potential. Among voters, considerations of party ideology were less significant; the focus shifted to whether the candidate had social or personal connections, or could provide economic benefits. The political choices in the 2009 elections were more fluid compared to the 1999 and 2004 elections. This shift led to an increasingly pragmatic approach in party-voter relations, overshadowing ideological considerations.
