My WhatsApp is flooded with messages from friends and those in chat groups regarding the 15th general election (GE15). Most share reports from news portals and newspapers, or postings from Facebook.
This time around, I’m getting Tik-Tok clips of politicians giving speeches or at press conferences or just getting a message across.
Politicians and political parties have taken to social media, including YouTube, like never before. Speeches of leaders are uploaded minutes after the events; sometimes they are carried live. Videos of visits by party leaders or potential candidates are uploaded, just as other messages are, for the consumption of the voter. And supporters are sharing these video clips and messages with those in their contact list.
It’s anybody’s guess how much more intense the battle will be between nomination day on Nov 5 and polling day on Nov 19.
On top of this, clips produced by individuals giving their opinion on which party to support or reject are in circulation. In fact, the Tik Tok clips seem to outnumber the written messages. This is probably because with the smartphone, anyone can produce a video clip.
Newspapers and news portals, such as FMT, are also actively producing short video clips of political speeches, events and analyses.
In this election, more than any other in the past, social media will play a crucial role in not just encouraging people to vote but also in passing messages of politicians and political parties. It will also disseminate the views of those known to us or in our group, and even that of unknown ordinary voters.
Sure, there is gossip and partisan support, even some fake news or old clips are being circulated, but also on view are a sense of humour and Malaysian creativity. Importantly, there are also pockets of serious news, information and discussions for the more discerning voter.
In this sense, elections today have truly become participatory.
I suppose the increased use of social media by individuals and parties is not surprising given that Malaysians aged 18 to 39 comprise 50.3% of the 21.1 million voters on the electoral roll.
When did the internet begin playing a role in local politics? Malaysians began to see the internet as a tool that could be used for politics following the sacking of Anwar Ibrahim as deputy prime minister in 1998 by then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
A few civil society activists began promoting Anwar’s reformasi movement and decrying the government of Mahathir. But this was at a time when the internet was still in its infancy in Malaysia, and therefore very slow and not always reliable.
Although a handful of activists and politicians started blogs before the 2004 general election, these were few and far between, and were often erratic in continuity. It was about this time that some political parties and politically-conscious NGOs began establishing their presence with official websites.
The reform-minded Aliran, for instance, had election-related stories and even carried an analysis of the mainstream media’s election coverage in 2004. It was also at this time that one of the earliest bloggers, Jeff Ooi, gained popularity and wide readership.
The most popular method of disseminating information – apart from the tried and tested physical presence approach – was the short messaging service or SMS.
However, all these did not have any major impact on the 2004 election results as the Barisan Nasional, led by “Mr Clean” Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, enjoyed an unprecedented win.
In 2004, about 42.3% of the 25.3 million population had access to the internet. This increased to 55.8% in 2008 (population 27.1 million)
As usual, members of the opposition were more active in cyberspace. This was largely because they were cut off from the mainstream media and did not get air time as did the ruling party. Hungry for exposure, the opposition parties latched on to the internet and entered the homes and offices of voters with their messages.
Also, active bloggers such as Jeff Ooi and Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad contested the general election under the DAP and PKR respectively. By then, more people were making use of the internet to make political statements and have their voices heard, including Mahathir who had had a fallout with Abdullah and wanted him out.
WhatsApp had yet to make an appearance and Facebook was not a rage yet, only becoming popular as a political tool after the 2008 general election.
But there is no doubt that the use of the internet, especially blogs and SMS messages via handphones, contributed to the slicing of the two-thirds majority enjoyed by the BN in the 2008 general election.
The BN lost Kedah, Penang, Perak and Selangor and failed to retake Kelantan. It prompted Abdullah to cite the use of the internet by the opposition as one of the reasons BN did badly in the 12th general election. His admission started a rush by BN component parties and politicians to set up blogs and Facebook accounts.
Even the public took notice because websites were publishing election stories faster than radio and television, and faster than newspapers which would only appear the following day. The game changer for many was perhaps the polling day when websites and party activists using SMS beat the traditional media by constantly updating the unofficial results.
By the time of the 2013 general election, with 67% of the population having an internet connection, the BN not only had a presence on the internet but also had some cybertroopers at its disposal. BN leaders, who had initially dismissed the online community, began actively courting them through blogs, Facebook, Flickr, and Twitter. The then prime minister Najib Razak was one of those who became adept at using social media.
By then, most Malaysians were carrying smartphones and there were several popular news portals and websites, apart from social media updates by politicians, analysts and ordinary individuals.
Malaysians were now able to share news and views with others without having to depend on the government-controlled mainstream media. Everyone, it appeared, had become an instant reporter and analyst rolled into one.
Today, a number of politicians and most political parties employ staff to update their social media accounts and websites.
Although politicians will still take to the hustings as usual, campaigning for the 15th general election will largely be done over the internet due to the short two-week period for campaigning and heavy rains which are already causing floods in some areas.
Also, knowing that 95.5% of Malaysians have access to the internet and 99.6% to a mobile phone, politicians are sure to milk this method of reaching voters before polling day on Nov 19.
Tik Tok and Facebook have become the main battlegrounds in the social media campaigns of parties and politicians. Blogs hardly seem to feature in this election.
As I said earlier, many individuals are also making their own video clips and sharing them on Tik Tok. Many of the ones that I have seen are humorous as they poke fun at politicians or political parties.
Some old clips have also been sent into circulation with the aim of damaging the integrity of politicians who said one thing in the past and say another now. Some are just clips of parts of speeches made by politicians, especially leaders of parties.
I am having a hard time going through all the messages and clips being sent, on top of the good morning messages and the usual sundry video clips and news of events in the country and around the world. I’m sure you are inundated with such messages and video clips too.
But this will only last until a week or two after GE15. Then it’ll be back to the almost boring good morning messages and motivational quotes and the sharing of songs and ordinary news of the day. And gossip about celebrities and others, of course.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.