SUNGAI PETANI – Unlike what is being popularly concluded, the opposition bloc of Perikatan Nasional (PN) did not sweep seats in the Malay heartland due to the influence of its videos on the TikTok social media platform, contends PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli.
Instead, PN, spearheaded by PAS, won the majority of the constituencies in the 15th general election because of systematic rhetoric on race and religion towards the younger generation since 2008, he stressed.
“Yes, TikTok is an important mechanism to spread political messaging, but what is far more important is the right content to rebut race and religion polemics,” said the Pandan MP and present economy minister.
For 15 consecutive years PAS has resorted to fanning racial and religious matters in the country to great effect, including among the young who easily buy into false narratives, he said in his address to a Penang and Kedah PKR convention on the upcoming state elections here last night.
Rafizi urged PKR and its allies in Pakatan Harapan (PH) to become online influencers with the right and sincere content to counter those peddling false narratives.
He however acknowledged that there is a need for PH to understand how TikTok works and its influence on the age group of 18 to 30 to ensure the messaging is spread effectively in cyberspace.
He said that social media influence is different based on age. Those aged 18 to 30 years tend to follow more of TikTok videos, those from 30 to 50 years prefer Instagram and Twitter, while those 50 and above are more on Facebook.
“It is important to understand the impact of each social media tool on various age groups but do it by providing the right content and messaging. Try not to subscribe to fake accounts. Do not let our rivals influence us to react negatively,” he said.
Rafizi said that PH needs to stay the course on its assertion that the country needs reforms to eradicate injustices stemming from corruption, power abuse, racialism as well as religious bigotry.
Rafizi pointed out that the use of race and religion caused Malay voters in Kedah to swing their support to PN by 70% to 80% in the last general election, causing PH to only regain one of the 15 parliamentary seats in the state.
It was a historic pendulum swing as never before has the Malay vote swung by 70% to 80% towards one Malay party, in this case, PAS, he said.
There is a combination of factors, but TikTok is not the main cause.
He also stressed that PH could not ward off the fear instilled among Malays that if PH won, the Chinese would grab political power from their hands.
There was also possible use of money politics, as it was noted that PAS had hosted a flow of feasts (kenduri) in villages.
“Such an outlook was prevailing in the rural and semi-urban constituencies,” Rafizi said.
“Kedah is an example where, for the first time, the Malays exclusively sided with just one party to safeguard their cause and interests.”
Rafizi expressed hope that with PH, led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, now being the backbone of the federal government, better performance to improve the economy will alter such sentiments.
He also told the audience that PH expects to wrap up negotiations for seat allocations in the six state elections by March, alluding to the high possibility that PH will cooperate with its once arch enemy Barisan Nasional, which is in the unity government.
He also hinted that there is a possibility that all six states would have their elections within the first half of this year.
The six states are Kedah, Penang, Negri Sembilan, Selangor, Kelantan, and Terengganu – The Vibes, January 15, 2023
