KUALA LUMPUR – As political parties nationwide compete to claim the biggest stake in the Malaysian vote bank, across the cyber sphere, a battle for viewership runs parallel.
In comparison to the traditional political campaign – requiring the candidate’s physical presence to appeal for votes within the limited campaign period – the emergence of TikTok, which allows users to upload short and creative videos, is proving to be an efficient tool for politicians to effectively penetrate a wider audience, especially young voters.
While the warring coalitions do not have official accounts, their respective parties and candidates are reaching out to the youth and fence-sitters through vigorous online campaigning.
Recently, TikTok users were seen to have taken a fancy to Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, with many commenters referring to him as “Abah” (father).
One of Muhyiddin’s most viral and often shared videos on the platform is of him jiving to “Swipe” by singer Alyph, with animations showing the PN president approving his coalition for being clean and stable – while “swiping” aside other coalitions, similar to the act of rejection in dating applications.
@abahkitemuhyiddin ingat pesan abah ye..? #PNBEST #prihatinbersihstabil #SWIPE ♬ bunyi asal - abahkitemuhyiddin
Muhyiddin also has numerous fan accounts on TikTok, all of which either impersonate him or express their support for the Bersatu president.
One such fan account has over 80,000 followers on TikTok, with an average of almost 11,000 views across the 36 videos posted.
Another fan account has around 90,500 followers, matched with 320,500 likes across only seven videos.
Both accounts publish cinematic edits of the former prime minister, with added filters and background music.
As PN supporters are mostly Malay, the coalition’s content often caters to its target audience, with grandeur and upbeat themes a feature of many of the videos related to the coalition.
Meanwhile, Umno Online’s official TikTok is currently shy of 15,000 followers.
Most of the account’s videos are interviews with candidates and other party officials on national issues, which garner triple- or lower-four-digit views.
Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has over 125,000 followers on the platform with his account mostly showing his campaign trails and speeches.
Similarly, views for each video also range between three- to four-figures. With 462 videos posted, the number of likes he receives averages at 887 views per video.
As Umno and Barisan Nasional had been in control of the federal government until its downfall in 2018, citizens are mostly already aware of their manifestos and governance.
The coalition’s long-time hold on federal power acts as its track record – with its social media output mostly consisting of candidate interviews to introduce new party faces that could possibly lead the nation.
However, Umno’s current approach is not yielding much reception as compared to its rivals, despite the supportive comments it receives.
Lastly, PKR’s official TikTok account mostly features clips of party president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, deputy president Rafizi Ramli, and vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar.
It has a little under 25,000 followers.
Anwar’s personal account has over 128,000 followers with over 463,000 likes in total.
Two of the highest viewed recent videos are of him giving a speech about the youth, and another of him thanking his wife, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.
@anwaribrahimofficial Terima kasih Azizah dan anak-anak kerana sentiasa berada di sisi saya. ❤️
♬ original sound - anwaribrahimofficial
His daughter, Nurul Izzah, boasts a five- to six-figure viewership for her recent videos showing her campaigning and philanthropy, which have garnered about 81,900 followers on the platform.
Meanwhile, Rafizi’s posts are closest to TikTok-format videos, where he maintains eye contact and speaks directly to the audience.
He has around 97,500 followers and 317,500 likes across 28 videos. His most popular video is of him explaining the source of his assets after declaring them.
@rafiziramli Saya baru isytiharkan harta. Kecoh budak-budak UMNO PAS BERSATU persoalkan macam mana aset bersih saya bernilai RM18 juta.
♬ original sound - rafiziramli - Rafizi
Pakatan Harapan maintains its campaigning ideology by reminding its viewers of bread and butter issues, and the need for transparency in Parliament.
Nurul Izzah’s portfolio of grassroots involvement gained the favour of youth voters, who commended her humility and wished her luck in the election.
Until polling day, it is expected that social media platforms would be utilised more often as time is running out for candidates to physically campaign.
It is fitting that political parties are casting a big fishing net on information streams to catch the attention of internet-savvy voters.
With the right amount of luck, any coalition could score big. – The Vibes, November 14, 2022
