Responses: Crackdowns, E-Government, Regulations
The Malaysian government has taken two distinct tacks in coping with the rise
of new media. The first is to make better use of these tools itself; the second is
to crack down on online troublemakers.
Aware that opposition candidates and parties made far better use of
cyberspace in the 2008 general election than they (see Case Study III below),
BN leaders have taken on social media and developed a more vibrant web
presence in earnest, developing online “e-government” portals for citizen
action and input as well as delivery of government services (for instance,
Mohsin and Raha 2006-07), and using Twitter and other communications tools
more aggressively. For instance, determined to court the youth vote more
aggressively, UMNO Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin hosted a “tweetup” at a
local restaurant in 2010, engaging in a frank, in-person discussion with some
of his online followers. 39 PM Najib himself followed up with a tea for his “online
friends” in early 2011, noting the launch of a new “1Malaysia” mobile site to
cater to cellphone-toting youth, and promising similar gatherings elsewhere
in the country. He explained, “If we want to engage with them, we have to
utilise cyberspace to communicate with the rakyat [common people]. That is
why I started my new Facebook and Twitter accounts