Social Media and On-Line Political Campaigning in Malaysia
ABSTRACT
Since the controversies surrounding the 2008 and 2013 Malaysian general elections due to the rising Opposition, social media networks have played a vital role in conveying political messages and debates. In 2014 there were a few state by-elections and they were influenced by the Kuala Lumpur Court of Appeal that found Anwar Ibrahim guilty of sodomy and sentenced him to five years jail (Kajang) on 23 March. He was expected to win, opening the way for him to become the chief minister of Selangor state, the country’s main economic hub surrounding Kuala Lumpur. In another event, a well known Malaysian and opposition politician, Karpal Singh, "the Tiger of Jelutong" died tragically following a motor vehicle accident. This paper analyses the influence of Facebook in the Kajang by-election and to what extent the social media impacted on the victory by Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail. Using compliance gaining theory, this paper presents strategies used by the two major political parties, Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Rakyat (PR) to achieve their electoral goals. Though online political campaigning is not new from a Western perspective it is for Malaysia. To understand how the compliance gaining approach works in practice, selected political parties’ Facebook advertisements were examined within two weeks after nomination day and election observers from diverse backgrounds were interviewed. It can be concluded that since 2008 political messages have been heavily debated through blogs. Independent Internet Media, Facebook and Twitter are very popular among Malaysian political candidates and voters.
Since the controversies surrounding the 2008 and 2013 Malaysian general elections due to the rising Opposition, social media networks have played a vital role in conveying political messages and debates. In 2014 there were a few state by-elections and they were influenced by the Kuala Lumpur Court of Appeal that found Anwar Ibrahim guilty of sodomy and sentenced him to five years jail (Kajang) on 23 March. He was expected to win, opening the way for him to become the chief minister of Selangor state, the country’s main economic hub surrounding Kuala Lumpur. In another event, a well known Malaysian and opposition politician, Karpal Singh, "the Tiger of Jelutong" died tragically following a motor vehicle accident. This paper analyses the influence of Facebook in the Kajang by-election and to what extent the social media impacted on the victory by Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail. Using compliance gaining theory, this paper presents strategies used by the two major political parties, Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Rakyat (PR) to achieve their electoral goals. Though online political campaigning is not new from a Western perspective it is for Malaysia. To understand how the compliance gaining approach works in practice, selected political parties’ Facebook advertisements were examined within two weeks after nomination day and election observers from diverse backgrounds were interviewed. It can be concluded that since 2008 political messages have been heavily debated through blogs. Independent Internet Media, Facebook and Twitter are very popular among Malaysian political candidates and voters.
Cite this paper
Chinnasamy, S., & Roslan, I. (2015) Social Media and On-Line Political Campaigning in Malaysia. Advances in Journalism and Communication, 3, 123-138. doi: 10.4236/ajc.2015.34014.
Chinnasamy, S., & Roslan, I. (2015) Social Media and On-Line Political Campaigning in Malaysia. Advances in Journalism and Communication, 3, 123-138. doi: 10.4236/ajc.2015.34014.
References
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02185370903077469 [28] Muzaffar, C. (1989). Challenges and Choices in Malaysian Politics and Society. Penang: Aliran Kesedaran Negara. [29] Oorjitham, S. (2008). New Media Spurring the Wind of Change. New Straits Times, 8 March 2008, 20-21. [30] Pew Internet & American Life Project (2008). The Internet and the 2008 Election. Washington DC: Pew Research Centre. [31] Rajaratnam, U. D. (2009). Role of Traditional and Online Media in the 12th General Election, Malaysia. South East Asia Research Centre, 1, 33-58. [32] Rosemarie, A. (1997). Thematic Content Analysis (TCA) Descriptive Presentation of Qualitative Data. [33] Sani, M. A. M. (2005). Media Freedom in Malaysia. Journal of Contemporary Asia, 35, 341-367.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00472330580000201 [34] Sindane, S. (2010). The Rise of Political Advertising on Television in South Africa and Its Implications for Democracy. Master’s Thesis, Johannesburg: University of the Witwatersrand. [35] Tamara, A. S. (2008). The Facebook Effect? On-Line Campaigning in the 2008 Canadian and US Elections. http://archive.irpp.org/po/archive/nov08/small.pdf [36] Tan, E., & Ibrahim, N. (2008). Blogging and Democratization in Malaysia: A New Civil Society in the Making. Kuala Lumpur: Sage Publications. [37] Themalayianinsider.com (2014). Kajang Rep Quits for By-Election, Anwar or Rafizi Slated to Stand. The Malaysian Insider, 27 January. [38] Valentino, N. A., Hutchings, V. L., & Williams, D. (2004). The Impact of Political Advertising on Knowledge, Internet Information Seeking, and Candidate Preference. Journal of Communication, 54, 337-354. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2004.tb02632.x [39] Vogel, K. (2007). Money Bomb: Ron Paul Raises $ 6 Million in 24-Hour Period. USA Today (The Politico), 17 December. [40] Welsh, B. (2004). Real Change? Elections in the Reformasi Era. In E. T. Gomez (Ed.), The State of Malaysia: Ethnicity, Equity and Reform (pp. 131-156). New York: Routledge Curzon. [41] Westling, M. (2007). Expanding the Public Sphere: The Impact of Facebook on Political Communication (pp. 1-13). [42] Williams, P. A., & Tedesco, J. C. (2006). The Internet Election: Perspectives on the Web in Campaign 2004. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. [43] Zakaria, H. A. (1989). Malaysia: Quasi Democracy in a Divided Society. In L. Diamond, J. J. Linz, & S. M. Lipset (Eds.), Democracy in Developing Countries: Asia (Vol. 3, pp. 347-381). Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner.
[1] Andrew, W. (1992). Promotional Culture. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Ltd. [2] ASLI (2008). An Analysis on 2008 General Elections. Report. Kuala Lumpur: Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute. [3] Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using Thematic Analysis in Psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 77-101. [4] Case, W. (1993). Semi-Democracy in Malaysia: Withstanding the Pressures for Regime Change. Pacific Affairs, 66, 183-205. [5] Center for Public Integrity (2005). Democrats Likely to Choose Howard Dean as Leader. 8 February, Washington DC. [6] Channel News Asia (2014). Kajang By-Election Set for March 23. Channel News Asia, 5 February. [7] Charles, A., & Gary, H. (2010). Effects of Political Advertising. The Public Opinion Quarterly, 40, 216-228. [8] Chinnasamy, S. (2013). A Study of the Impact of the Internet, Malaysiakini.com and Democratizing Forces on the Malaysian General Election. Adelaide: The University of Adelaide. [9] Christina, H.B., & Lynda, L.K. (2006). Political Advertising in International Comparison. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2-12. [10] Christine, B. W., & Girish, J. G. (2007). Social Networks in Political Campaigns: Facebook and the 2006 Midterm Elections. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1-23. [11] Christine, B. W., & Girish, J. G. (2008). What Is Social Network Worth? Facebook and Vote Share in the 2008 Presidential Primaries (pp. 1-25). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. [12] Christine, B. W., & Girish, J. G. (2012). Social Network in Political Campaigns: Facebook and the Congressional Elections of 2006 and 2008 (pp. 51-71). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. [13] Crouch, H. (1993). Malaysia: Neither Authoritarian nor Democratic. In K. Hewison, R. Robison, & G. Rodan (Eds.), Southeast Asia in the 1990s: Authoritarianism, Democracy and Capitalism (pp. 135-158). St. Leonards: Allen & Unwin. [14] Davies, R. (2014). Social Media in Election Campaigning. European Parliamentary Research Service 2014, 1-8. [15] Ernest, C. R., Jee, T. W., & Lau, W. M. (2013). Negative Political Advertising: It’s Impact on Voters. Asian Journal of Business Research, 3. [16] Franz, M. M., & Ridou, T. N. (2007). Does Political Advertising Persuade?
https://www.google.com.my/does+political+advertising+persuade [17] Freedman, P., Franz, M., & Goldstein, K. (2004). Campaign Advertising and Democratic Citizenship. American Journal of Political Science, 48, 723-741. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.0092-5853.2004.00098.x [18] Frey, L., Botan, C., & Kreps, G. (1999). Investigating Communication: An Introduction to Research Methods. Cambridge: Pearson. [19] Guy, C. (2001). The Language of Advertising. New York: Taylor and Francis Group. [20] Hassan, S. (1997). Asian Values and Democracy: Islamic Oriented Non-Governmental Organisations in Malaysia. Paper Presented at the 3rd International Workshop on Discourses and Practices of Democracy in Southeast Asia, Copenhagen. [21] Hitwise, E. (2008). Top Presidential Candidate 2008 Websites. United States. [22] Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index (2011). Democracy Index 2011: Democracy under Stress: A Report from the Economist Intelligence Unit. The Economist, 4 December. [23] Kates, S. (1998). A Qualitative Exploration into Voters’ Ethical Perceptions of Political Advertising: Discourse, Disinformation, and Moral Boundarie. Journal of Business Ethics, 17, 1871-1885. http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1005796113389 [24] Lester, S. (1999). An Introduction to Phenomenological Research. www.sld.demon.co.uk/resmethy.pdf [25] Matthew, W. F. (2008). Left behind: A Textual Analysis of Media Frames from National TV Journalists Covering Hurricane Katrina’s Evacuation Centers (pp. 1-75). Master’s Thesis, Columbia, MO: University of Missouri-Columbia. [26] Messing, S., & Westwood, S. (2012). Selecting Exposure in the Age of Social Media: Endorsements Trump Partisan Source Affiliation When Selecting News Online. http://crx.sagepub.com [27] Moten, A. R. (2009). 2004 and 2008 General Elections in Malaysia: Towards a Multicultural, Bi-Party Political System? Asian Journal of Political Science, 17, 173-194.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02185370903077469 [28] Muzaffar, C. (1989). Challenges and Choices in Malaysian Politics and Society. Penang: Aliran Kesedaran Negara. [29] Oorjitham, S. (2008). New Media Spurring the Wind of Change. New Straits Times, 8 March 2008, 20-21. [30] Pew Internet & American Life Project (2008). The Internet and the 2008 Election. Washington DC: Pew Research Centre. [31] Rajaratnam, U. D. (2009). Role of Traditional and Online Media in the 12th General Election, Malaysia. South East Asia Research Centre, 1, 33-58. [32] Rosemarie, A. (1997). Thematic Content Analysis (TCA) Descriptive Presentation of Qualitative Data. [33] Sani, M. A. M. (2005). Media Freedom in Malaysia. Journal of Contemporary Asia, 35, 341-367.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00472330580000201 [34] Sindane, S. (2010). The Rise of Political Advertising on Television in South Africa and Its Implications for Democracy. Master’s Thesis, Johannesburg: University of the Witwatersrand. [35] Tamara, A. S. (2008). The Facebook Effect? On-Line Campaigning in the 2008 Canadian and US Elections. http://archive.irpp.org/po/archive/nov08/small.pdf [36] Tan, E., & Ibrahim, N. (2008). Blogging and Democratization in Malaysia: A New Civil Society in the Making. Kuala Lumpur: Sage Publications. [37] Themalayianinsider.com (2014). Kajang Rep Quits for By-Election, Anwar or Rafizi Slated to Stand. The Malaysian Insider, 27 January. [38] Valentino, N. A., Hutchings, V. L., & Williams, D. (2004). The Impact of Political Advertising on Knowledge, Internet Information Seeking, and Candidate Preference. Journal of Communication, 54, 337-354. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2004.tb02632.x [39] Vogel, K. (2007). Money Bomb: Ron Paul Raises $ 6 Million in 24-Hour Period. USA Today (The Politico), 17 December. [40] Welsh, B. (2004). Real Change? Elections in the Reformasi Era. In E. T. Gomez (Ed.), The State of Malaysia: Ethnicity, Equity and Reform (pp. 131-156). New York: Routledge Curzon. [41] Westling, M. (2007). Expanding the Public Sphere: The Impact of Facebook on Political Communication (pp. 1-13). [42] Williams, P. A., & Tedesco, J. C. (2006). The Internet Election: Perspectives on the Web in Campaign 2004. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. [43] Zakaria, H. A. (1989). Malaysia: Quasi Democracy in a Divided Society. In L. Diamond, J. J. Linz, & S. M. Lipset (Eds.), Democracy in Developing Countries: Asia (Vol. 3, pp. 347-381). Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner.