GEORGE TOWN, March 16 — Both Barisan Nasional (BN) and the Opposition will invest in social media campaigning in the run up to the 14th general elections (GE14), but this does not mean they will forgo traditional methods entirely, analysts said.

University of Tasmania’s Asia Institute director James Chin said political parties will spend a lot of money to boost their social media presence.

"This is because a majority of those under 35 years of age receive their news or political gossip through social media,” he said.

He added the main medium most people would use to share political messages was WhatsApp groups, followed by Facebook and other popular social media platforms.

However, he pointed out that the traditional approach of organising ceramah and door-to-door visits was still relevant to reach out to those above 50 years, especially those who do not use social media.

The Opposition had heavily campaigned on social media and the internet in the past two general elections due to the mainstream media’s inaccessibility, but BN has now caught up.

The ruling coalition’s popularity on Facebook has even almost doubled that of Opposition parties, according to a study last October by Politweet.

Associate Professor of Politics and International Relations in Universiti Utara Malaysia, Mohd Azizuddin Mohd Sani, said traditional face-to-face methods were still the most effective for individual candidates to win over their constituents.

"It is more effective for candidates to go door to door during campaigning to attract the support of constituents especially in rural areas,” he said.

He said this was based on his observations of the past two elections and a by-election on how constituents reacted to the candidates.

Barisan Nasional supporters arrange BN flags before the election machinery launch by the Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi at Bandar Tun Razak, Cheras March 12, 2018. — Picture by Shafwan Zaidon

Both Mohd Azizuddin and Chin pointed out that different approaches were needed for different demographics due to the urban-rural divide.

"Social media is more effective in urban areas and constituencies,” Mohd Azizuddin said.

Politicians who weighed in on this also agreed that they needed to use a mix of social media and traditional approaches to garner voters’ support.

Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) vice president Datuk Mujahid Yusof Rawa said both approaches had their own effectiveness, though one could reach out to more people on social media.

"Even if we use WhatsApp messages and Facebook, it doesn’t mean we don’t knock on people’s door because we must not forget that in rural areas, some don’t have access to social media and we need to check on these people physically,” he said.

He said it was usually those in the middle to upper income group who could be reached via social media, while those in the lower income group in rural areas were harder to reach through such methods.

"We will still hold ceramahs because these events will give a different environment and feel that people like to attend,” he said.

He added that there was nothing to lose in using both methods, such as holding a ceramah and broadcasting it through Facebook Live to reach out to more people.

"Some of our speeches in ceramahs are attended by thousands of people and when it’s on Facebook Live, we can reach out to tens of thousands of people everywhere,” he said.

Umno’s Pulau Betong assemblyman Datuk Muhamad Farid Saad said it wasn’t only about getting the message across, but the personal touch that voters liked.

"We still need the personal touch, to visit my constituents regularly, to provide assistance when needed and to organise events such as Quran recitals for the Muslims each month,” he said.

He said it may be easier to blast out on social media information on BN programmes, but it was the candidates’ personal touch in reaching out to people that mattered.

Penang BN chairman Teng Chang Yeow said they have started house-to-house visits and organised events to reach out to the people since last year. — Picture by Sayuti Zainudin

Penang BN chairman Teng Chang Yeow agreed with Muhamad Farid that using both social media and traditional door-to-door methods was important.

"We have started our house-to-house visits and reaching out to the people through events in each constituency since last year,” he said.

DAP’s P. Ramasamy said it was good to use social media to boost a political party’s image nationwide due to the platform’s wide reach.

He said there was nothing to lose in using every method possible in order to win support. This meant using social media and also traditional methods of organising ceramahs, events and door-to-door visits during the campaign period.

PAS may have minimal presence in Penang but according to Penang state commissioner Muhammad Fauzi Yusoff, they have continued to present aid and visit people in rural areas on the mainland side of the state.

"We do use social media but we still need to reach out to voters. Face to face is still important especially if we want to provide assistance to them,” he said.

He said the Islamist party also provides voter registration services and this kind of service must be done in person.

"Not everyone uses social media. We have to reach out to everyone personally to show our sincerity,” he said.

He said they have never stopped providing assistance to the public, such as giving aid and food to the poor throughout the years.

"We don’t only do this because it’s elections; we do this all the time to help the people,” he said.