Prada, Louis Vuitton on sale for Faisal’s campaign funds

Although most might look for a little extra cash by selling their lavish, designer bags, some of the city’s residents hope that selling their luxury goods might bring about political change.

A number of supporters of independent Jakarta gubernatorial candidate Faisal Basri decided to hold a garage sale, including a branded bag auction, in a bid to gather campaign funds.

The event, which took place at the Coffee Cabin café in South Jakarta on Tuesday, saw the candidate’s supporters gathered under the banner of the Women’s Affairs Community sell second-hand branded bags, including those from Louis Vuitton, Prada and Gucci.

Faisal, a University of Indonesia economist, said in a press statement made available to The Jakarta Post that the event was one of his attempts to involve the public in raising campaign funds, adding that it was “a better way to avoid the influence of any specific interest”.

“We can raise money in various ways, from donations to art auctions to garage sales,” Faisal, who is paired with Biem Benyamin, said on Tuesday.

The official campaign period kicked off on Sunday, and is slated to last until July 7.

“The important thing is that the public is willing to contribute their creativity to this campaign,” he added. (asa/mtq)