PEKAN: Mohd Shukri Mohd Ramli, an independent candidate vying for the Chini state assembly seat, is using United States President Donald Trump's campaigning tactics to boost his chances of victory in the polls.
The 49-year-old blogger says he plans to use social media platforms effectively to swing the votes in his favour.
He said he has devoted many hours campaigning via social media to win the minds and hearts of the people in the constituency.
"Trump had utilised social media and the internet to successfully win the US presidential election. With my 22-year experience in social media, my campaign will be fully focused on platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and blogs," said Mohd Shukri, who is using the 'key' symbol in his campaign.
He said he was also going to the ground to campaign, which he does daily from 10am to 4pm.
"Some might claim that I put little effort to meet people and might be not serious in contesting but the truth is that I am way ahead in my social media campaign," he said when met at Felda Chini today.
In the 2016 US presidential election, Trump defeated his Democrat rival Hillary Clinton in a tight race to secure the presidency.
It was widely reported that Trump's social media presence and digital campaign was vital in securing his victory.
Meanwhile, Shukri, who is better known by his online moniker 'Cucumatkilau', said besides interacting with voters thorough social media, he has also been campaigning via his online radio station, known as CMK FM.
"Since I cannot organise any 'ceramah', I've decided to use online radio to explain my election manifesto to the people. This allows listeners to enjoy music while at the same time, listen to my plans for Chini and the issues faced by the people here.
"When I go on air, I share plenty of information with my voters so that they can understand me, my aspirations and know the latest happenings in the constituency. Voters will interact with me through Facebook during the live radio session and I will read out their messages while on air," he said.
Asked on engaging elderly voters, Shukri said most of the first generation settlers own smartphones and had access to WhatsApp on their devices.
"The elderly may not surf the internet or watch YouTube channels but they are part of several groups in WhatsApp. I noticed that some of my videos and messages have been shared in the family and neighbourhood groups in Chini..... so my videos have reached the targeted voters," he said.
On his daily routine, Shukri said he only has a five-member campaign team to assist him in Chini so they were unable to hold programmes or cover the ground extensively.
"Even the Election Commission has advised candidates to utilise social media for the Chini by-election so I decided to put a lot of effort on my digital platforms. In fact, I have just started distributing my campaign pamphlets on Tuesday," he said.
The three-cornered Chini by-election on July 4 will see Shukri being challenged by Barisan Nasional's Mohd Sharim Md Zain and another independent candidate, Tengku Datuk Zainul Hisham Tengku Hussin.