ID :
181140
Tue, 05/10/2011 - 12:35
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/181140
The shortlink copeid
REACHING OUT TO PEOPLE THROUGH NEW MEDIA
By Mohd Noor Firdaus Mohd Azil
KUALA LUMPUR, May 10 (Bernama) -- Internet-based new media is being
increasingly seen as the key platform to help political leaders reach out to people, especially the IT-savvy younger generation.
Political leaders from both sides of the divide are becoming aware of new media's powerful impact, which helped unleash the 2008 'political tsunami' during the 12th General Election.
Therefore, in gearing up for the 13th General Election, new media is seen as an important communication channel for delivering messages and reaching out to the masses with a personal touch.
With the click of a mouse, numerous SMS messages can be sent in bulk from the Internet to the handphones of target groups.
For example, messages to students, such as 'follow lectures earnestly to achieve your ambitions', 'good day' and 'have you called home to ask your family to pray for your success?', will definitely make a favourable impression on the group.
"If done regularly, they will definitely bring one closer to the elected representative who has taken the initiative to show us his/her concern," said Ilham Nadzmi, a second-year student at a local university.
"However, we have yet to see such messages," added Nur Syafiqah Abu Samah, a medical student at Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL).
DIFFERENT APPROACHES IN WOOING VOTERS
Ilham and Syafiqah are among thousands of undergraduates in public and private higher-education institutions in the country who will be voting for the first time in the 13th General Election.
A random survey conducted by Bernama found that they are still undecided on their choice of parties and candidates.
"Certainly, we will only pick a representative who is close to us, whom we know and can approach in times of need," said Ikhwan Mustafa, another UniKL student, who admitted that he has yet to decide on his political affiliations.
One ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) state assembly representative from
Selangor, who adopted a friendly approach by sending birthday wishes, greetings during celebrations, and congratulating children who performed well in exams through new media, won uncontested.
It shows how close an elected representative can get with people through new media.
Now, with social media like Twitter and Facebook, political leaders can engage in a more personal manner with voters on various issues, such as voters' well-being or for clarifying issues during election campaigns. It might even be just to send out simple greetings.
NEW MEDIA
In fact, most BN leaders are hoping to emulate United Malays National Organisation (Umno) President Mohd Najib Razak's personal approach on Twitter and Facebook, which has garnered more than 120,000 fans on his list.
Hamidzun Khairuddin, a political observer, pointed out that other BN representatives who have been reaching out to their target groups through new media are Rembau Member of Parliament (MP), Khairy Jamaluddin and Deputy Higher Education Minister Saifuddin Abdullah.
"People know that an elected representative has his or her hands full, but their assistants can help keep the communication channels open," he said to Bernama.
Several other observers noted that BN had now realised how new media, like SMS and blogs, had become important and how they served as an effective platform for the opposition to unleash their 'political tsunami' in 2008.
Some political observers also believed that BN needed to use same strategy to win back voters instead of relying solely on traditional media.
CHANGES IN COMMUNICATION
Three years after the historic political upset, Najib himself emphasized the use of new communication media to BN leaders. Did they take the suggestion seriously?
According to the Chief Executive Officer of the Mind Development Institute (INMIND), Norizan Shariff, BN concentrated on development politics causing the vast majority of BN leaders to depend on the delivery of good services alone to woo voters.
"That can continue but sophisticated communication technologies should not be sidelined, especially when it offers one of the best platforms to reach out to a wider audience," he said, adding that the same platforms could be used to address negative press reports effectively as well.
According to Norizan, several politicians within BN had still not come to terms with the fact that communication modes had changed, and that these changes had to be harnessed to strengthen the position of BN.
GIVE MORE VOICE TO THE PEOPLE
Based on a blog post of Norizan at www.nobisha.com entitled 'Top 10
Parliamentarians on Twitter', Najib takes top position, followed by two more BN leaders -- Khairi and Mukhriz Mahathir. Opposition PKR and DAP leaders claimed the other seven spots.
For Norizan, social media is the best platform for providing a greater voice to the people compared with the limited space in traditional mass media, which, while relevant, is no longer of any interest to the younger generation.
For MP Abdul Rahman Dahalan, Twitter is the best platform to explain government policies openly, especially for getting feedback from the ground.
"Government policies might sound mundane, but if we keep explaining
consistently and in an interesting manner for the benefit of the people, I believe the Twitter generation will accept our logical arguments," added Abdul Rahman, who has a page at twitter.com/mpkotabelud.
KUALA LUMPUR, May 10 (Bernama) -- Internet-based new media is being
increasingly seen as the key platform to help political leaders reach out to people, especially the IT-savvy younger generation.
Political leaders from both sides of the divide are becoming aware of new media's powerful impact, which helped unleash the 2008 'political tsunami' during the 12th General Election.
Therefore, in gearing up for the 13th General Election, new media is seen as an important communication channel for delivering messages and reaching out to the masses with a personal touch.
With the click of a mouse, numerous SMS messages can be sent in bulk from the Internet to the handphones of target groups.
For example, messages to students, such as 'follow lectures earnestly to achieve your ambitions', 'good day' and 'have you called home to ask your family to pray for your success?', will definitely make a favourable impression on the group.
"If done regularly, they will definitely bring one closer to the elected representative who has taken the initiative to show us his/her concern," said Ilham Nadzmi, a second-year student at a local university.
"However, we have yet to see such messages," added Nur Syafiqah Abu Samah, a medical student at Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL).
DIFFERENT APPROACHES IN WOOING VOTERS
Ilham and Syafiqah are among thousands of undergraduates in public and private higher-education institutions in the country who will be voting for the first time in the 13th General Election.
A random survey conducted by Bernama found that they are still undecided on their choice of parties and candidates.
"Certainly, we will only pick a representative who is close to us, whom we know and can approach in times of need," said Ikhwan Mustafa, another UniKL student, who admitted that he has yet to decide on his political affiliations.
One ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) state assembly representative from
Selangor, who adopted a friendly approach by sending birthday wishes, greetings during celebrations, and congratulating children who performed well in exams through new media, won uncontested.
It shows how close an elected representative can get with people through new media.
Now, with social media like Twitter and Facebook, political leaders can engage in a more personal manner with voters on various issues, such as voters' well-being or for clarifying issues during election campaigns. It might even be just to send out simple greetings.
NEW MEDIA
In fact, most BN leaders are hoping to emulate United Malays National Organisation (Umno) President Mohd Najib Razak's personal approach on Twitter and Facebook, which has garnered more than 120,000 fans on his list.
Hamidzun Khairuddin, a political observer, pointed out that other BN representatives who have been reaching out to their target groups through new media are Rembau Member of Parliament (MP), Khairy Jamaluddin and Deputy Higher Education Minister Saifuddin Abdullah.
"People know that an elected representative has his or her hands full, but their assistants can help keep the communication channels open," he said to Bernama.
Several other observers noted that BN had now realised how new media, like SMS and blogs, had become important and how they served as an effective platform for the opposition to unleash their 'political tsunami' in 2008.
Some political observers also believed that BN needed to use same strategy to win back voters instead of relying solely on traditional media.
CHANGES IN COMMUNICATION
Three years after the historic political upset, Najib himself emphasized the use of new communication media to BN leaders. Did they take the suggestion seriously?
According to the Chief Executive Officer of the Mind Development Institute (INMIND), Norizan Shariff, BN concentrated on development politics causing the vast majority of BN leaders to depend on the delivery of good services alone to woo voters.
"That can continue but sophisticated communication technologies should not be sidelined, especially when it offers one of the best platforms to reach out to a wider audience," he said, adding that the same platforms could be used to address negative press reports effectively as well.
According to Norizan, several politicians within BN had still not come to terms with the fact that communication modes had changed, and that these changes had to be harnessed to strengthen the position of BN.
GIVE MORE VOICE TO THE PEOPLE
Based on a blog post of Norizan at www.nobisha.com entitled 'Top 10
Parliamentarians on Twitter', Najib takes top position, followed by two more BN leaders -- Khairi and Mukhriz Mahathir. Opposition PKR and DAP leaders claimed the other seven spots.
For Norizan, social media is the best platform for providing a greater voice to the people compared with the limited space in traditional mass media, which, while relevant, is no longer of any interest to the younger generation.
For MP Abdul Rahman Dahalan, Twitter is the best platform to explain government policies openly, especially for getting feedback from the ground.
"Government policies might sound mundane, but if we keep explaining
consistently and in an interesting manner for the benefit of the people, I believe the Twitter generation will accept our logical arguments," added Abdul Rahman, who has a page at twitter.com/mpkotabelud.
