The countdown to next month’s general election has begun. As political parties scramble to reach out to voters, the Internet could prove to be a decisive battlefront. Find out more on page 4.

Online politics work



WE saw it in Australia and are also witnessing it in the US.

The trend of leveraging on the Internet to pitch election candidates is fast catching around the world and Malaysia is no exception.

With the ubiquitous nature of the Internet and convergence of technologies, the virtual battlefield has now become a key platform for candidates to connect to voters – especially when statistics from the Malaysia Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) reveal that there are 14,904,000 Internet users in the country as of June 2007, which translates to some 60 per cent penetration rate.

If in Australia last year, current Prime Minister Kevin Rudd (then Labour challenger) used the Internet to build up an army of young supporters through social networking site Facebook apart from using his official campaign Web site, the same is being done by Illinois’ Democratic Senator Barack Obama in the US.

Their use of “third party” sites such as Facebook and MySpace is creating a situation where voters feel like they are part of a community and in return, garner the candidates name recognition and support.

And the same trend is being seen on the local front.

According to acting general manager, Microsoft Online Services Group, Southeast Asia Richard Huggins, MSN is seeing a lot of potential with politics and the Internet for many reasons, not least the promise it holds to create a more informed choices and encourage the participation of more people – especially the young – in democratic processes.

“The Internet is changing the way politics works; it allows representatives and candidates to reach out to constituents and voters in a more personal way too. The biggest trend is how people are influencing each other using everyday social media and social networking tools.

“People are voicing their political preference and views through Windows Live Messenger status, Facebook status, video sharing, photo sharing, e-mails and online forums. The Internet, in many ways, has returned politics to the grassroots,” he told Tech&U last week.

“We are seeing an increase in socio-political discussions in the Malaysian blogsphere. Blogs that focus on debates and news are very popular and have high traffic. As a result, politicians are becoming more active in social media. MCA’s Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun, Pemuda Umno deputy chief Khairy Jamaluddin, and opposition leader Lim Kit Siang, are among the more high-profile of them,” he said.

Why the Internet works so well, Huggin highlighted, is that it allows people to access information anywhere, anytime, and on any device.

“Any political party or candidate that ignores the new media will miss out on reaching 60 per cent of the Malaysian population. Today’s consumers are spending more time online across various digital devices, such as PCs and mobile phones, in a professional and personal capacity. There is no way an organisation, whether commercial or political, can reach their entire target audience through traditional media, such as print and television, alone,” said Huggins.

Political parties should look at the Internet in the same way as marketers, he added. “It’s interactive, it’s a smarter medium, it’s cost-effective, and it allows them to find the right audience, engage, excite them and drive meaningful actions and long-term relationships.”

In short, an online presence is essential to communicating with a new breed of people who want to make informed choices before voting. The Internet can give people convenient access to the critical information they need to make informed decisions about campaigns, politics, and the government, said Huggins.

On what sort of impact could the use of the Internet – particularly from the search engine perspective – have in campaigning, Huggins said tools like MSN and Windows Live digital tools can really help people form decisions by helping them find relevant information quickly.

That said, he noted, MSN does find that some candidates are not using the full potential of the Internet to reach voters, and this is so unfortunate, because it is likely to be a big part of future digital elections, especially in this region where Internet penetration is growing very fast.

“A simple search for ‘UMNO’ on www.live.com will get you 244,000 results. But what people want is information on the Web that matters most to them; perhaps about a particular candidate, issue, or constituency.

“Windows Live search delivers an outstanding level of power and simplicity that helps people narrow their query, and find the information that helps them make the best informed decision. For candidates, this means an easy, more affordable way to meet and influence voters in a highly relevant online environment,” said Huggins.

The fact that the Internet is a key feature in today’s lifestyle should not be ignored less it becomes an opportunity missed in politics.

At the recent “post-mortem” discussion of US’ Super Tuesday held by Institute for Politics, Democracy and the Internet, the research wing of George Washington University’s Graduate School of Political Management, Prof Adam Green said politics is experiencing a shift away from “top down” communications and toward a model that allows many people to have a voice.

Sites like Facebook and YouTube have a unique reach with young people, young voters who traditionally have been thought of as not being active voters, he said in an online report.

The Internet is responsible for energising this segment of the population, Green said. “And in 2008, the Internet is galvanising young people to vote like never before.”