Buletin MPN Edisi Khas PRU 14

Viewpoint
GE14: The Rise of Digital Voters
and Facebook Election
By: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Saraswathy Chinnasamy
The upcoming 14th
Malaysia Election will be
a “Facebook Election”
following popular usage
of media platforms that channel
more information to the netizens
compared to the other social
media platforms such as Twitter
and Instagram. World Internet
Stats recorded the number of
Malaysian populations close to
31 million while the nation’s
Facebook platform users reached
almost 20 million. This shows
that almost two-thirds of our
populations are more vulnerable
to Facebook usage in daily
basics especially in channelling
and sharing information online.
This scenario could be double or
triple over the GE season and
campaigning period. Various kind
of information can be channelled
through this platform such as
mainstream media online news
versions, news upload by the
independent news internet portals,
personal blog portals, interactive
videos and even personal video
uploaded by netizens. It has an
almost immediate reach to the
netizens allowing them to give out
any sorts of responses even just
seconds away upon any uploads
on the Internet.
Today, it is safe to say Digital
Voters are being the focus of
Malaysia’s 14th General Election.
“Digital Voters” in this sense does
not mean “Digital Voting”, which
Andrew Barnes, Christopher
Brake and Thomas Perry defined
as the use of electronic devices,
such as voting machines or an
internet browser, to cast votes.
“Digital Voters’ in this intent
carries the meaning of the
population of registered election
voters in Malaysia that have
now experienced a shift and can
be seen actively present in the
digital world which is the Internet.
And thus, the phase “Digital
Voters” refers to them; those who
linger online for election news,
participate in internet debates and
discussion on online forums, or
even those who seek the Internet
for any tips that would make up
their minds on who and which
parties to vote on in the upcoming
14th GE.
This stance is proven on several
grounds; one of which the Internet
is seen as the best “market place”
for the election candidates to
promote themselves in the eyes
of the public. The Internet is
Faculty of
Communication
& Media Studies
Universiti Teknologi
Mara (UiTM)
well-known as the “world without
boundaries’ and when compared
to actual and physical encounters
that are limited by space and time;
the Internet has the sole attribute
which allows any information or
self-promotions to reach the public
at large with just a few clicks
on the keyboard. The content
on which to be broadcasted or
posted would also equally reach
the Digital Voters regardless
where they are or who they are;
as long as they have the mutual
connection with each other; which
is; they are all connected to the
Internet.
If we take a trip down memory
lane, it can be seen back in
GE12; the opposition parties were
grinding on the Internet approach
so as to reach maximum reach and
massive exposure to the voters.
The step taken was found to be
‘new’ and unexpected, one of
which justified on the absence of
such techniques and steps taken
by the Government parties in
GE12. However, a whole different
Buletin Pemikir Negara 3