The tradition of kain timur requires the receiver party to reimburse the value of a gift. This exchange tradition has the potential to become an instrument to gain support in local elections. The ability of the candidates in making use of this resource becomes the key to success in applying the exchange of kain timur tradition as an instrument to gain power. This can be seen in South Sorong, in which a candidate could successfully become the winner in local election in 2010 by using the exchange of kain timur tradition.