GE13: Taking on the opposition in their home ground
“The UMB is the party’s cyber war engine. Its main task is to raise awareness among other party engines about the use of new media and social media networks to deliver information and effectively engage youth who are already exposed to the media,” says Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz, Umno Youth exco member and chairperson of UMB.
The Star
THERE is nothing better than winning in your opponent’s home ground!”
The rallying cry by Barisan Nasional Youth chairman Khairy Jamaluddin to the 600 over cyber activists at the BN Youth Cyber Activists Gathering recently was loud and clear.
“The cyber world is the opposition’s home ground as they have been using this platform for a long time. We are the away team’ and the cyber world is the most important arena this election.”
He may be younger and arguably better-looking than Sir Alex Ferguson but one can just imagine the self-professed Manchester United fan doing a “hairdryer” on his (cyber) “players” with his fiery roar.
Echoing Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak‘s earlier clarion call to his team to take heed of the cyber pitch in their election tournament, Khairy reiterates that social media is a vital gameplan for Barisan if they want to clinch the trophy and title in the GE13.
Like Najib, the Barisan Youth have been gearing up for the cyber warfare for a few years now, ever since they lost the match on that platform in the last elections.
Najib who launched his Facebook page in 2009 has amassed some 1.4 million likes on FB and more than one million followers on Twitter. He has since tapped into various technology and mobile applications available like Instagram and Vine.
Khairy is no second stringer either in the social media arena with almost 50,000 likes on FB and some 243,000 followers on Twitter.
Recognising the importance of engagement with the youth, on the social media networks in particular, he led the setting up of the Umno Youth’s New Media Unit (UMB) in 2009.
“The UMB is the party’s cyber war engine. Its main task is to raise awareness among other party engines about the use of new media and social media networks to deliver information and effectively engage youth who are already exposed to the media,” says Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz, Umno Youth exco member and chairperson of UMB.
Since its inception in 2009, UMB has been involved in more than 150 programmes nationwide including training programmes, engagement programmes, special operations and talk shows.
To consolidate the coalition’s social media initiatives, the BN Youth Cyber team was established last August.
“Before BNYCT was set up, there was no official platform to coordinate all the cyber initiatives by the cyber engines of the respective Barisan component parties for the coming general election,” Tun Faisal adds.
The initiative also aims to provide a platform for those on Facebook, Twitter and blogs to interact with other pro-Barisan supporters.
“This platform will enable us to reach out to youths in a better manner unlike in the 2008 elections when we did not have a proper online network to address misinformation,” he notes.
Some 2,300 cyber activists have been trained while the BNCYT have garnered a total exposure of around 700,000 people on Facebook and some 250,000 followers on Twitter.
With an eye on the coming general elections, the BNYCT have been busy preparing materials to spread information on Barisan’s policies, track record and success stories as well as organising various gatherings with their cyber volunteers.
The recent gathering was one of its pre-election mobilisation programmes.
Expecting a negative campaign by the Opposition, the BN Youth have also launched Gempak (“Gerakan Menolak Penipuan Pembangkang”) a campaign to counter the “propaganda lies” of the opposition.
With its catchphrase “Jamunji” (“Janji, mungkir janji” or “Promises, broken promises”) the campaign will highlight all the unkept promises by the opposition leaders, especially in the opposition-held states.
“It is crucial for us to respond to these attacks with facts and evidence.
“But that is not all, the method of delivering these facts is as important in determining whether we can win the hearts and minds of voters,” Khairy says at a press conference during the gathering, stressing that the BNY cyber team will not “sink to their level by spreading slanderous information to fight the opposition.”
Positive sharing of facts and evidence is also a strategy used by slightly older but equally connected politician Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah.
“I use social media as a tool for sharing (contents), not just for communicating. So I try my best to put across the issues I want to share, like my “new politics”, “youth empowerment”, “soul of university”, “strengthening co-curriculum”, with approaches that are open, casual and, sometimes, humourous.”
The old style of attacking, or over attacking, the opposition, is not going to convert voters who have made up their mind; and is likely not imaginative in the eye of the middle ground or fence sitters around 30% of the electorate who get most of their political information from social media, says Saifuddin.
He believes there is no longer social divide between rural and urban voters.
“Even for a constituency like Temerloh where I come from, it is physically 50% rural and 50% urban, but the social media penetration is about 70%, so I don’t think there is a digital divide,” he says, adding that even in instances where there is no access to cyberspace, there are “enablers” people who share the information that they derive from social media.
Crucially, he concedes, the social media has given him an insight into young people’s concerns.
“People today are no longer discussing only old issues like development, but are adding new issues like freedom and human rights, areas that we still have lots of room for improvement.”
Saifuddin feels that Barisan is much more prepared this time, compared to GE12.
“We have enough number of people working on social media (with some 10,000 cybertroopers). But in all honesty, we still need to improve in terms of contents and approach.”
Ultimately, can all the FB likes and Twitter following be translated into real votes?
Khairy is confident.
“Sure, there are a few who tick like’ or follow us to mock us, but most are supporters. The real supporters we need to mobilise to come out and vote, which we will do through the social media.”
