Is WhatsApp free of the elites : the 2018 General Elections in Malaysia
2018 was a particularly significant year for Malaysia, as citizens democratically dethroned a 61-year-old regime, Barisan Nasional (BN, the National Front), and replaced it with Pakatan Harapan (PH, the Alliance of Hope) without bloodshed. This article attempts to systematically analyze the evolutio...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
2021
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| Online Access: | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/18200/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/18200/1/49712-172687-1-PB.pdf |
| _version_ | 1848814509134708736 |
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| author | Kevin Fernandez, Marwan Ismail, Ravindaran Maraya, |
| author_facet | Kevin Fernandez, Marwan Ismail, Ravindaran Maraya, |
| author_sort | Kevin Fernandez, |
| building | UKM Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | 2018 was a particularly significant year for Malaysia, as citizens democratically dethroned a 61-year-old regime, Barisan Nasional (BN, the National Front), and replaced it with Pakatan Harapan (PH, the Alliance of Hope) without bloodshed. This article attempts to systematically analyze the evolution of new media from the 2008 election (taking place in the blogging era, which contributed to the “electoral tsunami” in Malaysia that year) to 2018, which saw the rise of encrypted messaging services such as WhatsApp, a formidable point for the dissemination and consumption of political news in Malaysia. Methodologically, the normative method of the shared values theory was adopted to better explain how new media is currently used to shape the political ideas of ordinary Malaysians. The findings suggest that there is a clear attempt by political leaders to coopt opinion leaders at various levels, particularly religious leaders, academicians, think tanks and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), with the intention of influencing and shaping the political leanings of those who are less interested in politics, using a centralized agenda-setting mechanism. The findings also suggest that opinion leaders were purposely selected according to their higher social capital value and social authority, and evidence from the study suggests that instant messaging services are not totally free from the influence of political and economic elites. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-15T00:35:13Z |
| format | Article |
| id | oai:generic.eprints.org:18200 |
| institution | Universiti Kebangasaan Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-15T00:35:13Z |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| publisher | Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | oai:generic.eprints.org:182002022-03-14T00:45:46Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/18200/ Is WhatsApp free of the elites : the 2018 General Elections in Malaysia Kevin Fernandez, Marwan Ismail, Ravindaran Maraya, 2018 was a particularly significant year for Malaysia, as citizens democratically dethroned a 61-year-old regime, Barisan Nasional (BN, the National Front), and replaced it with Pakatan Harapan (PH, the Alliance of Hope) without bloodshed. This article attempts to systematically analyze the evolution of new media from the 2008 election (taking place in the blogging era, which contributed to the “electoral tsunami” in Malaysia that year) to 2018, which saw the rise of encrypted messaging services such as WhatsApp, a formidable point for the dissemination and consumption of political news in Malaysia. Methodologically, the normative method of the shared values theory was adopted to better explain how new media is currently used to shape the political ideas of ordinary Malaysians. The findings suggest that there is a clear attempt by political leaders to coopt opinion leaders at various levels, particularly religious leaders, academicians, think tanks and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), with the intention of influencing and shaping the political leanings of those who are less interested in politics, using a centralized agenda-setting mechanism. The findings also suggest that opinion leaders were purposely selected according to their higher social capital value and social authority, and evidence from the study suggests that instant messaging services are not totally free from the influence of political and economic elites. Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2021 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/18200/1/49712-172687-1-PB.pdf Kevin Fernandez, and Marwan Ismail, and Ravindaran Maraya, (2021) Is WhatsApp free of the elites : the 2018 General Elections in Malaysia. Geografia : Malaysian Journal of Society and Space, 17 (4). pp. 123-136. ISSN 2180-2491 https://ejournal.ukm.my/gmjss/issue/view/1443 |
| spellingShingle | Kevin Fernandez, Marwan Ismail, Ravindaran Maraya, Is WhatsApp free of the elites : the 2018 General Elections in Malaysia |
| title | Is WhatsApp free of the elites : the 2018 General Elections in Malaysia |
| title_full | Is WhatsApp free of the elites : the 2018 General Elections in Malaysia |
| title_fullStr | Is WhatsApp free of the elites : the 2018 General Elections in Malaysia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Is WhatsApp free of the elites : the 2018 General Elections in Malaysia |
| title_short | Is WhatsApp free of the elites : the 2018 General Elections in Malaysia |
| title_sort | is whatsapp free of the elites : the 2018 general elections in malaysia |
| url | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/18200/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/18200/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/18200/1/49712-172687-1-PB.pdf |