Modalities Ashari Tambunan's Power Relations in Deli Serdang

District

Musa Rajekshah, Subhilhar, Heri Kusmanto and Hendra Harahap

Doctoral Program in Development Studies,

Faculty of Social and Political Sciences University of North Sumatra, Indonesia

Keywords: Modality, Power Relations, Leadership.

Abstract: Dialectics in the political arena does not only cover the space for party competition that uses political capital

but also strengthens post-election development that is oriented towards maintaining power on an ongoing

basis for electoral competition. Deli Serdang Regency, after regional autonomy, the direct election of regional

heads which began in 2004 was successfully defended by the Tambunan family figure. The electoral

competition in each post-conflict local election season was won, which led to the sustainability of the

leadership for up to four periods. This condition certainly cannot be separated from Ashari Tambunan's

modality in leading Deli Serdang Regency. Modality is the trust that leaders have with the people who choose

them as a mandate in development. Modality, according to Putnam, cannot be separated from socio- political

relations involving networks, norms, and social trust from the elite and society. This study uses a qualitative

research method, with data analysis explaining building and times series as a reinforcement of the argument

for Ashari Tambunan's leadership which harmoniously managed to maintain the conduciveness of Deli

Serdang Regency. While the data sources used are primary data and secondary data, namely direct observation,

interviews, and literature studies conducted in this study. The theoretical basis uses the modality theory

proposed by Putman, namely Social Capital and Political Capital. The findings in this study, first, the success

of maintaining 4 leadership periods reflects the strong modalities possessed by Ashari and the Tambunan

family, second, the power relations built with a familial cultural approach have succeeded in providing

political conduciveness, third, the individual modalities possessed by actors are a strong foundation. formed

from a belief in building power relations so that the community participates in development participation

because of harmonization of relations which leads to increasing public trust in the government in the Deli

Serdang Regency area..

1 INTRODUCTION

Democracy in Indonesian has given birth to a

decentralized government that gives local

governments the authority to play the functions of

local government. Local governments have wider

authority in formulating programs and implementing

policies, this condition provides opportunities for

each individual to become a leader. However, in

carrying out government functions, of course, there

are many obstacles and problems, ranging from

participation in electoral competitions, implementing

policies to maintaining power. History proves that the

1998 reform event was an event to change the entire

life order of the nation and state (Abdullah, 2005).

This is created by opening up freedom for citizens to

participate in the process of nation and state

development. The reforms have had an impact on

changing the election mechanism from a

representative system to a direct system as clarified

by Law no. 32 of 2004 concerning Regional

Government. Competition in the political arena does

not only cover the competition space between parties,

but also emphasizes the figures of the candidate such

as character, popularity and morality, as well as the

historical educational background and occupation of

the leader. This capital is also a building of

relationships and trust that every leader must have

with the people who will choose them directly.

In other words, it is clear that modality is an

inseparable unit, because it is closely related to one

another. By conceptual definition, of course, the

metaphor is reflected in the three main assets that

must be owned by the candidates who will later

Rajekshah, M., Subhilhar, ., Kusmanto, H. and Harahap, H.

Modalities Ashari Tambunan’s Power Relations in Deli Serdang District.

DOI: 10.5220/0011509800003460

In Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Social and Political Development (ICOSOP 2022) - Human Security and Agile Government, pages 40-45

ISBN: 978-989-758-618-7; ISSN: 2975-8300

 2023 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. Under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

participate in the contestation in an electoral

competition. The modalities in political contestation

are not only determined by the candidate's figure and

modality, but also by the role of support. In electoral

competition for political capital (political capital),

social capital (social capital) and economic capital

(economics capital), these three capitals can influence

a political leader in obtaining strong support from the

community and of course also maintaining his power

(Arifin, 2013). The position of power that is obtained

from the community as a mandate in carrying out

leadership becomes the construction of development

in the region, the conduciveness of institutional

relations must be carried out in order to maintain the

stability of development which leads to the

emergence of leadership support.

Deli Serdang Regency in the 2018 post-conflict

local election succeeded in gaining support not only

from the dominating political party but also the

support of the Deli Serdang Regency community of

82.25%. This reality also explains that the Deli

Serdang Regency election in 2018 only had two

candidates, the Ashari-Yusuf Pair was only faced

with an empty box. Ashari Tambunan turned out to

be successful in increasing the public trust of Deli

Serdang Regency compared to the previous post-

conflict local election which amounted to 11 pairs of

regional head candidates. Seeing the phenomenon

that occurred, the researcher focused on examining

the modalities of Ashari Tambunan who had won in

Deli Serdang Regency, which was the continuation of

the Tambunan family's leadership within a period of

4 periods of Tambunan family leadership in Deli

Serdang Regency. Ashari Tambunan won the level of

public trust in Deli Serdang Regency in the second

period of 538,238 votes or 82.25%

(kpud.deliserdang.go.id). As a leader in the electorate

area of Ashari Tambunan, it is considered a surprise

in the political world because throughout the history

of Deli Serdang Regency, the emergence of electoral

competition against empty boxes by winning 82.25%

of the vote has become an achievement in the

leadership journey in Deli Serdang Regency.

Seeing the modalities that have been owned by

Ashari Tambunan which already has a solid image

where this capital was built since the leadership of

Amri Tambunan (brother) so that the result is trust

(trust) from the community. Seeing another asset

from Ashari Tambunan, namely utilizing the culture

of the Deli Serdang Regency community, which

cannot be separated from its customs, traditions and

kinship systems that have been built so far, this

capital is no less important to build relationships with

supporters that must be established, so that capital to

mobilize support during the leadership of Ashari

Tambunan in Deli Serdang Regency

2 LITERATURE REVIEW

Robert Putnam (1993) explains that modalities in

power cannot be separated from three aspects, namely

social capital, political capital and economic capital.

This modality becomes a mutual trust between

community members and the community towards

their leaders. Modalities are defined as social

institutions that involve networks, norms, and social

trust that encourage social collaboration

(coordination and cooperation) for the common good.

This opinion implies the need for social ties/networks

that exist in society, and norms that encourage

productivity. This opinion is strengthened by Pierre

Bourdieu (1986), in his book The Forms of Capital,

distinguishes three forms of capital, namely economic

capital, cultural capital, and social capital. According

to Bourdieu (1986), the definition of capital is very

broad and includes material things (which can have

symbolic value), as well as cultural capital (defined

as culturally valued tastes and consumption patterns).

Cultural capital can cover a wide range of

properties, such as art, education, and language

forms. For Bourdieu, capital acts as a social relation

that exists in an exchange system, and this term is

extended to all forms of goods, both material and

symbolic, without distinctions that present

themselves as rare and worthy of being sought in a

particular social formation. Capital must exist in a

realm, so that the realm can have meaning. However,

it can also be explained at another level by using a

generative formula. This kind of explanation is a bit

artificial but useful, a similar research was conducted

in Paser Regency, East Kalimantan on Political

Modalities and Contest.

The results of this study explain that the role of

modality ownership in determining the strategy for

winning the election as a unit that cannot be separated

or is closely related to each other, both from political,

social and economic modalities in the scope of

networking, image building and mass mobilization

(Purwaningsih, 2015). Furthermore, in 2010

Verayanti Sumule researched in South Konawe

Regency. The results of this study found that there

were 4 most dominant modalities owned by Indah

Putri Indriani compared to the incumbent candidates.

These modalities are social, cultural, political and

economic capital. This has proven that Indah Putri

Indriani turned out to be a woman as well as a

newcomer who was able to calculate the capital she

Modalities Ashari Tambunan’s Power Relations in Deli Serdang District

had so that she managed to become a winner in a

political contestation and at the same time succeeded

in becoming the first female regent in the South

Sulawesi area (Rasyid, 2010)..

2.1 Method

This study uses a qualitative method. According to

Creswell (in Noor, 2011: 34), states that qualitative

research is a complex picture, examines words,

reports in detail from the views of informants, and

conducts studies in natural situations. Qualitative

research is a research study.

that is descriptive in nature and tends to use an

inductive approach to analysis. The type uses

descriptive, because this research tries to describe a

symptom, event, event that is happening now

(Bagong, 2011). Descriptive research focuses on the

actual problem as it was at the time the research took

place (Fathoni, 2011). Through descriptive research,

researchers tried to describe the events and events that

occurred in Deli Serdang Regency. This study

focuses on how Ashari Tambunan's modality is in

building power relations. Data was collected through

interviews, documentation and observation

(Hardiansyah, 2012)

2.2 Result and Disscusion

2.2.1 The Modality of the Hidden Family

The function of capital, for Bourdieu, is a social

relation in an exchange system, which presents itself

as something rare, worthy of being sought in a certain

social form. Various types of capital can be

exchanged with other types of capital. The most

dramatic exchanges are symbolic exchanges. Because

it is in this symbolic form that different forms of

capital are perceived and recognized as legitimate and

important

Ashari Tambunan's power relations began in 2004

at the beginning of the leadership of Amri Tambunan

(brother) who won the first post-reform regional head

election, Amri Tambunan won because he received

the support of the majority of the community and

members of the Deli Serdang Regency DPRD. The

leadership continued to Ashari Tambunan for up to 2

terms, so that the leadership of the Tambunan family

in Deli Serdang Regency succeeded in 4 terms of

office for the regional head. The Tambunan family

succeeded in building the trust of the people of Deli

Serdang Regency. In the context of development,

referring to the National Medium-Term Development

Plan (RPJMN) 2015-2019 which is measured on 5

aspects, namely: Education, Human Development

Index, Open Unemployment Rate, Indonesian

Democracy Index, Economic Growth and

Infrastructure, the average national achievement is

only 55.1% and only increased per year ranging from

5.5% to 6%. Meanwhile, the development

achievement of North Sumatra Province is only

slightly above the national development achievement

of 57% of the 5 aspects of development assessment.

Meanwhile, Deli Serdang Regency is at 71.94%,

which is successfully above the national and

provincial development targets of North Sumatra. For

example, in 2021, Deli Serdang Regency won the

Best 1 Regional Development Award (PPD) in 2021

for the Regency Category, North Sumatra Provincial

Level (Bapennas RI, 2021). Excellent programs such

as the Smart Program, the Lucky Mesrah Program,

the Desa Satu Program, the Opung Sari Basa Bang

Program which was translated from the Deli Serdang

Building Movement (GDSM) and the presence of an

international standard Kuala Namu Airport in Deli

Serdang Regency are illustrations of sustainable

political investment for synergized and collaborative

leadership. This achievement is one of Ashari

Tambunan's outputs who succeeded in building

power relations in Deli Serdang Regency.

2.2.2 Tambunan’s Cultural Modalities

All intellectual qualifications that can be produced

through formal education or family inheritance, such

as the ability to present oneself in public, certain

knowledge and skills resulting from formal

education, certificates (including bachelor degrees)

are referred to as cultural capital (Prihatmoko, 2008).

Cultural capital is basically a belief in values about

something that is seen as true and always plays a role

in actualizing it. The formal education of Ashari

Tambunan and the Tambunan family has an effect on

thinking and acting skills, so that the track record of

leadership in various organizations and in

government agencies is considered maximal and

many achievements have been achieved

Ashari Tambunan was indirectly recruited by his

older brother (Amri Tambunan), during the

leadership of Amri Tambunan, he was appointed as

an Expert Staff of the Regent who has a strategic role

in the development and synergy of institutional

relations in Deli Serdang Regency. This position also

has an impact on Ashari Tambunan's experience in

the field of government, evaluating his brother's

programs and providing innovations to programs to

develop Deli Serdang Regency. The modality of

regeneration carried out by the Tambunan family to

ICOSOP 2022 - International Conference on Social and Political Development 4

maintain power in Deli Serdang Regency is the

actualization of leadership practices.

2.2.3 Savings Social Modalities

Social capital is any kind of relationship as a resource

for determining social position. Bourdieu explained

that this social capital is actually a valuable social

relationship between people. This can be exemplified

by some people who interact between classes in the

social strata of society. This means that in this case,

Ashari Tambunan's social interaction between classes

is to determine the position of his own class. In the

focus of social capital, it is clear that the management

of Ashari Tambunan's social capital which is part of

the analysis is of productive value for the creation of

social cohesiveness in Deli Serdang Regency. Social

cohesion in question is some social interaction

between classes showing a harmony and agreement.

For this reason, the next focus of social capital is on

the meaning of social capital only in the context of

interaction with the outside world which naturally

must be involved in the processes of negotiation and

adaptation carried out. Ashari Tambunan between

official institutions (Executive-Legislative), regional

heads and the community.

So that in turn leads other individuals to carry out

reinterpretative actions on their social capital (Salusu,

1996). For this reason, Ashari Tambunan believes

that power relations prioritizing social capital will

gain trust. More than that, the track record is a

consideration for many people to choose Ashari

Tambunan again. Apart from reaping many

achievements, Ashari Tambunan has high credibility

for his leadership as the Regent of Deli Serdang

Regency. Of course seen based on the achievements

obtained. Especially in terms of regional development

and bureaucratic services that are getting better.

Ashari Tambunan's leadership as Regent, from his

achievements, has opened up many opportunities for

bureaucratic reform. Ashari Tambunan's leadership is

considered the best cadre of Amri Tambunan. Which

has the maturity level of democracy and managerial

leadership that Ashari Tambunan occupies as regent.

With Ashari Tambunan's maturity, it was felt when

he became an Expert Staff of the Regent of Deli

Serdang Regency, before becoming Regent, he often

met a dead end because there were many interests

during internal meetings of the Deli Serdang Regency

government.

However, with Ashari Tambunan's shrewdness in

leading, this matter was easily resolved and there

would no longer be a long debate going forward by

prioritizing diplomatic and democratic methods, but

also being a little repressive to avoid being tough and

slow in discussing people's issues, let alone

incidental ones. Of course, if it is understood as a

track record, it is clear that the segmentation that sees

this is from educated youth, scholars, or other

professional figures. This means that all the people of

Deli Serdang Regency are not all traditionalistic.

Many are also rational in seeing the leadership of the

Tambunan family. The formation of a social network

in Ashari Tambunan's election to lead Deli Serdang

Regency in period 2 is a clear example of the

successful social collaboration process carried out by

the Tambunan family. The process that is created

indirectly has a big impact on providing space for

social capital to take on the role of forming a mass

network. This can be seen from the following

schematic image

Source: Data processed by researchers, 2022

Through the picture above, it is found that in

addition to the actor's character, the social capital that

is owned comes from family and relatives. First, the

family's social capital comes from the figure of his

brother Amri Tambunan who is Ashari Tambunan's

older brother who also led 2 terms, where through his

leadership for 10 years indirectly gave positive

memories to the people of Deli Serdang Regency.

Second, other family social capital comes from the

character of Ashari Tambunan's sister-in-law, namely

Anita Lubis who has closeness and has many families

in the Deli Serdang Regency government

bureaucracy

The Strength of Ashari Tambunan's Political

Relations Most of Ashari Tambunan's political forces

in Deli Serdang Regency are not always absolute due

to the support factor of political parties, although

some of the supporting parties in the post-conflict

local election process are considered to have

influence as political machines. Although in the last

post-conflict local election, Ashari Tambunan was an

incumbent in the local election, there is an interesting

thing where Ashari Tambunan applies an incumbent

regent in Deli Serdang Regency and succeeded in

bringing together all political parties at the Deli

Serdang Regency level to support him, which could

indirectly boost his electability during the campaign.

In politics, in the election era, popularity and

electability are indeed an important part of being

Modalities Ashari Tambunan’s Power Relations in Deli Serdang District

elected as regional head. The victory in the post-

conflict local election, indirectly in the last post-

conflict local election, the political forces built by

Ashari Tambunan who was the incumbent could be

utilized in Ashari Tambunan's political constellation

to win the political contestation at that time. The

author limits the types of political power to only a

few, which are later understood in this article as a

reference to a candidate getting support from one of

his constituencies (Miriam, 2008). Political parties as

the supporting parties, the bureaucracy and the

emotional relationship that is built in the midst of the

local community

This is the initial capital which is then

accommodated in such a way on an ongoing basis so

that the public chooses the candidate. In the post-

conflict local election, the support of the majority of

the public for the candidate or contestant is not always

absolute because the candidate is supported by the

Party, although some of the supporting parties are

considered to have influence as political machines.

Although in the last post-conflict local election

Ashari Tambunan was the incumbent, there is an

interesting thing where Ashari Tambunan is an active

regent in Deli Serdang Regency, which can indirectly

boost his electability during political campaigns.

elected as regional head. The politics built by Ashari

Tambunan who was the incumbent Regent in Deli

Serdang Regency could be used to win the Political

Contest at that time. Political parties as the supporting

parties, the bureaucracy and the emotional

relationship that is built in the midst of the local

community. This is the initial capital which is then

accommodated in such a way in a sustainable manner

so that people choose Ashari Tambunan

2.2.4 Bureaucracy

Another part of the political power of political parties

is the bureaucracy which does have historical roots

that are never separated from the influence of

practical politics (Huntington, 2003). The history of

the bureaucracy records that the position of the

bureaucracy towards the local political system in this

case also occurred in the regional elections of Deli

Serdang Regency in 2018. Political control of the

government network is more focused on conditioning

the bureaucracy in the Deli Serdang Regency local

government. Even though Ashari Tambunan is an

Incumbent who can order his subordinates to elect

him, the network that has been built during his tenure

as Regent greatly influences the bureaucracy in Deli

Serdang Regency to elect him. Broadly speaking, in

the post-conflict local election, the regent has a wider

range of motion in implementing his campaign

strategy in the context of the process of winning the

post-conflict local election, because the incumbent

has all the elements or bureaucratic characteristics so

that it is very profitable, namely controlling social

access to civilians. Mastery of social access or

loyalists is very important because it will boost the

electability of candidates to achieve victory. As stated

by one of the successful teams from Ashari

Tambunan in Deli Serdang Regency, that:

“Ashari Tambunan is the Regent of Deli Serdang

Regency so it is only natural that the people of Deli

Serdang choose him, besides that he is also a smart

person and dares to make decisions for the benefit of

the community.”

Ashari Tambunan always has a double advantage.

First, among bureaucrats, it is clear with the various

policies that have been issued by Ashari Tambunan.

In addition, he has social capital because he is the

most well-known figure in the local community

because a Regent has led a very strategic position.

Although there are some people who have never seen

it. That is, it is no longer a problem and that means

reducing the space for greater personal socialization.

Even if it is done, it is only to increase the level of

electability in society. This is clearly different from

the other candidates, because in order to make himself

known to the public, he inevitably has to carry out a

large and intense personal socialization. The second

condition is the symbol of a regent who holds the

highest power in regional government, and is a policy

maker.

The public will recognize him as someone who

has acted for the benefit of the community, although

the matter of acting for the benefit of the community

is still debatable, especially how much the policies

and programs he implements have on community

development. Then the third condition, former

regents usually have quite large resources, material,

as an accumulation of leadership so far. Apart from

that, it is also certain to have a fairly wide network

among the elite and local communities and become

their social capital. Therefore, it is not too difficult for

Ashari Tambunan to optimize these resources. Ashari

Tambunan may already be familiar to the ears of

bureaucrats and the people of Deli Serdang Regency.

One of the figures who has a flexible figure towards

bureaucrats or employees in Deli Serdang Regency

2.2.5 Political Parties

Ashari Tambunan does have a strategic position in the

management of Political Parties in Deli Serdang

Regency as the Chair of the PAN Party so that in the

ICOSOP 2022 - International Conference on Social and Political Development 4

process of determining the running partner in the last

Pilkada it was very easy. However, this does not mean

that Ashari Tambunan's victory in the post-conflict

local election is only determined by the volunteers of

the winning team, but more than that, the

identification of the supporting party in the election

process is very strong. According to the results of an

interview with the Winning Team, said:

"All of Ashari Tambunan's supporting parties are

very compact, so what is the strategy of this pair is

always carried out by all supporting parties, from the

party chairman to the party members"

All supporting parties in the process of

winning, of course, political parties must have a clear

and equitable mass base, because without a mass base

of course in forming political power, political parties

will find it difficult to carry out their duties to win the

candidates they carry. Due to the support of all parties

who expressed their support for this pair, they were

so solid and worked according to the party's decision.

The PAN, Golkar, PDIP, Nasdem, and Gerindra

parties are the largest parties in carrying this pair so

that they look total in providing support to Ashari

Tambunan

In addition to cadres from parties who played

an active role in the election, the other supporting

parties also played a major role in supporting the

struggle which was also seen in total in providing

support to Ashari Tambunan in the post-conflict local

election of Deli Serdang Regency. In carrying out the

political campaign activities carried out by Ashari

Tambunan in 22 sub-districts in Deli Serdang

Regency, Ashari Tambunan succeeded in mobilizing

Party leaders to become Ashari Tambunan's

campaigners so that they descended into villages and

sub-districts throughout Deli Serdang Regency

3 CONCLUSIONS

The power relation used by Ashari Tambunan is to

utilize the various modalities it has. The superiority

of ownership of this modality from Ashari Tambunan

makes it difficult for people in Deli Serdang Regency

and political parties to carry other candidates who can

match Ashari Tambunan's strength. The leadership of

the Tambunan family has been considered successful

by the people of Deli Serdang Regency, besides that

he is also considered by the community to be a smart

person and dare to make decisions for the benefit of

the community. This makes the people really want

Deli Serdang Regency to be led by Ashari Tambunan

for the second period.

REFERENCES

Abdullah, Rozali. 2005. Pelaksanaan Otonomi Luas

dengan Kepala Daerah Secara Langsung. Jakarta: Raja

Grafindo.

Arifin, Anwar. 2013. Komunikasi Politik: Paradigma,

Teori-Aplikasi-Strategi dan Komunikasi Politik

Indonesia. Jakarta PT. Balai Pustaka.

Bourdieu, Pierre. 1986 The Form of Capital dalam J. G.

Richarson ed. Handbook of Theory and Research for

the Sociology of Education. New York: Greenwood

Press.

Bagong dan Sutinah. 2011. Metode Penelitian Sosial:

Berbagai Alternatif Pendekatan. Jakarta: Kencana.

Budiardjo, Miriam, 2008, Dasar-Dasar Ilmu Politik, PT.

Gramedia , Jakarta.

Fathoni, Abdurrahmat. 2011. Metodologi Penelitian dan

Teknik Penyusunan Skripsi. Jakarta: Rineka Cipta.

Huntington. P.Samuel, 2003, Tertib Politik di Tengah

Pergeseran Kepentingan Massa, Jakarta: PT. Raja

Grafindo Persada. (edisi terjemahan).

Haryatmoko, Menyingkap Kepalsuan Budaya Penguasa:

Landasan Teoritis Gerakan Sosial Menurut Pierre

Bourdieu. Dalam majalah BASIS Edisi Khusus Pierre

Bourdieu, (Edisi November-Desember 2003).

Herdiansyah, Haris. 2012. Metodologi Penelitian Kualitatif

untuk Ilmu-Ilmu Sosial. Jakarta: Salemba Humanika.

Komisi Pemilihan Umum Daerah Kabupaten Deli Serdang.

2014DB1. Data Pemilih Kabupaten Deli Serdang

2022, diakses tanggal 5 Mei 2022 dari:

https://www.pemilu.kpud.deliserdang.go.id

Prihatmoko, Joko dan Moesafa. 2008. Menang Pemilu di

Tengah Oligarki Partai.Yogyakarta: Pustaka Belajar.

Putman, et al., 1993. Making Democracy Work: Civic

Traditions in Modern Italy. Princeton University Press.

Purwaningsih, Miliki Titin 2015 Modalitas Calon Bupati

Dalam Pemilihan Umum Kepala Daerah Studi kasus:

Indah Putri Indriani Sebagai Bupati Terpilih di

Kabupaten Luwu Utara Provinsi Sulauwesi Selatan.

Rasyid, Abdul 2010 Modalitas dan Kontestasi Politik”

Studi tentang modalitas dan strategi pemenangan

Pilkada pada pasangan kandidat Drs. H. Yusriansyah

Syarkawi,M.Si dan Drs. H. Azhar Bahruddin, M.AP

dalam Pilada Kabupaten Paser Kalimantan Timur.

Salusu, J. 1996. Strategi Pemenangan dalam Pemilihan

Kepala Daerah. Jakarta: Prenada

Modalities Ashari Tambunan’s Power Relations in Deli Serdang District