Tiktok Videos By Malaysia Election Candidates Add Colour To Campaigning

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 14 (Bernama) -- The candidates contesting for Malaysia’s 15th General Election (GE15) are actively engaging with Tik Tok as one of the platforms to draw support from voters, especially the younger ones.  One of them is octogenarian Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah or better known as Ku Li who is defending his Gua Musang parliamentary seat for the 13th time under Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition.  In line with the digital age, the veteran politician is not missing out on using the TikTok app as a new medium to approach voters, especially young people, in his campaign. At 85, Ku Li is the second oldest candidate in GE15 and BN’s oldest. The oldest candidate in this election is Langkawi parliamentary seat incumbent Dr Mahathir Mohamad of Pejuang, who is 96 and no stranger to the social media including Tik Tok.  Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman Muhyiddin Yassin, 75, also participated in a TikTok trend to a song called Swipe, a hip hop track by Singaporean singer Alyph. In a TikTok post by user @abahkitemuhyiddin, the former prime minister who is running for the Pagoh parliamentary seat is seen “swiping” away the logos of BN and Pakatan Harapan (PH) whenever Alyph sings “swipe”.  Although mostly known for its predominantly entertainment-based content, TikTok has quickly emerged to be the platform of choice to reach a younger audience where Malaysian politicians have capitalised on during the campaign. Meanwhile, at the other end of the age spectrum, young leaders from youth based party the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (MUDA) also took to the social media in their campaign. Muda president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman frequently posted videos of him speaking at rallies and talking about politics. The Muar candidate, whose MUDA party is a partner of PH in GE15, has been posting on TikTok since June 2020 at @syedsaddiq and has amassed over 825,300 followers. In one video, he expressed his support for PH chairman Anwar Ibrahim, saying that Anwar has many young and credible politicians backing him, not only DAP.  Other notable candidates who have been using TikTok include BN candidate for the Kuala Selangor parliamentary seat, caretaker finance minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz, and caretaker health minister Khairy Jamaluddin who is running for the Sungai Buloh parliamentary seat.  Malaysia will hold its GE15 on Nov 19, with early voting for security personnel, such as the army and police, taking place Tuesday (Nov 15). -- BERNAMA