Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
Thursday, February 25, 2010
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Wednesday, November 18, 2009
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Feature: Twitter and Malaysian Politics
TWITTER AND MALAYSIAN POLITICS
By Max Koh
Politicians were twittering on the side as MP Nizar was kicked out of Dewan Rakyat minutes after his swearing-in.
Last Monday’s Parliament proceedings saw history in the making when MP Nizar Jamaluddin was ordered out of the hall just minutes after taking his oath as the new Bukit Gantang MP.
The former Perak Menteri Besar was kicked out as he violated the House’s dress code for donning a black headband with the words “Bubarkan DUN (Dissolve the state assembly)” and shouting “Hidup rakyat, bubar dewan! (Long live the people, dissolve the state assembly).
Several Pakatan Rakyat MPs followed suit by putting similar head and arm bands and were ordered out too.
At the same time, another history was being made on the side: opposition MP Lim Kit Siang was busy tweeting on his mobile as the events played out. Prior to that, he asked a few to join him too.
Anyone with a mobile phone and following Kit Siang’s Twitter would have known events in the Dewan Rakyat as they unfolded.
10.11am: pandemonium in hse nizar ordered out of house by speaker
10.12am: 2 other pr mps ordered out of house
10.16am: speaker orders pas mp out 4 wearing headband "bubar dun"
In response, Khairy Jamaluddin would give his own version of events from his Blackberry:
10.18: Opposition MPs defy speaker by insisting on wearing "Bubar DUN" headbands. Speaker warns but ignored, several opp MPs asked to leave.
10.19: Childish, unproductive and a mockery of Parliament.
10.21: Everything started when Nizar ex-MB started shouting "Hidup, hidup" after being sworn in. Grandstanding for the TV cameras. Sigh. Poser.
Pakatan Rakyat’s Jeff Ooi and Tony Pua joined the fray . For the first time, Twitter made its debut in Dewan Rakyat- another addition to the arsenal of media tools politicians are using to reach out of the august hall.
Malaysian politicians are known for their usage of new media tools such as
blogs, Facebook, website. It appears that Twitter is poised to take political ring by storm in the near future.
Politweets and the Rakyat
Twitter is a social network tool where users can broadcast messages to his friends within 140 characters.
The messages are updated and sent to other users – known as followers – who received the tweets via the Twitter website, short messaging messages (SMS) and other external applications.
Twitter is also a conversational tool as it allows users to response to tweets.
Some of the local politicians have been using Twitter to directly reach out to their electorates, making the conversation appear personal and direct.
Among some of the actively tweeting politicians are Khairy Jamaluddin, Jeff Ooi, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak.
These updates often appear as their personal thoughts on current events in addition to entries of their daily activities and whereabouts.
Occasionally, they would address personal questions from electorates, akin to responding to a comment on their blog.
Take Khairy’s reply for an example: “Some are good. Some are downright dubious” to Yoon Kit’s question: “Will our Ministries ever be headed by people based on qualification instead of affiliation? Or at least some rudimentary knowledge?”
How is Twitter going to change Malaysian politics?
First, Twitter makes it so much easier for politicians to send out information as they happen. As politicians can tweet from anywhere with just their mobile phones, they could give first-hand accounts of Dewan Rakyat proceedings or public events.
Of course, it would appear that politicians would become journalists themselves by bypassing the journalists to provide first-hand accounts as they happen.
Secondly, because Twitter functions in real-time, politicians can directly answer to immediate questions posed by their followers.
Imagine, if you can pose a question directly to an MP during a debate in Dewan Rakyat?
While the Twittering phenomenon has yet to take the local political arena by storm, there is a surge of users subscribing to the service in Malaysia.
New media entrepreneur Josh Lim found that there are about 120,000 users tagged under Malaysia.
This is a stark increase from 3,000 users as stated by Bruno Peeters (of Twitterfacts.com) in December 2008.
While there are no official statistics, what is certain is that tens of thousands of Malaysians are currently twittering as assumed by The Star reporter Niki Cheong.
During the March 8 elections, thousands of Malaysians logged on to websites such as Malaysiakini in order the get the latest updates on the results.
Imagine the next elections as Malaysians log unto Twitter and its search engine to find out the latest results.
Breaking news couldn’t be any faster unless you were there in the ballot room itself.
Malaysian politicians are known for their adaptation of new media tools in order to reach out to the nation in projecting their thoughts and rallying their support- first through blogs, Facebook and now Twitter.
Kit Siang has about 1,200 followers, Khairy has 930 followers while Prime Minister has about 1,900 followers. Expect to see more politicians signing up for Twitter in the near future.
***
SIDEBAR: GOOD TWEETS, BAD TWEETS
While anyone can simply open up a Twitter account and start tweeting, there is a distinct difference between a good and bad tweeters.
There is a reason why Ashton Kutcher can amass up to 2 million followers while the regular Muthu may have only a couple of followers consisting of family members, friends and colleagues.
Obama became of the first prominent politician to harness the power of social media to become the 44th President of United States.
Part of his success was to engage young voters through his use of social media tools such as MySpace, Youtube and Twitter.
During the presidential campaign, Obama would tweet from his Blackberry to inform his followers about his activities and get support for his rallies.
His tweets would often include links to his website which contains live videos of his rallies or speeches.
Obama’s Twitter page works because he directly engages the followers and invites them to have a personal engagement in the campaign. Today, Obama has about 1.5 million followers where he continues to lobby support for his policies and gather feedbacks and questions.
What Twitter has done is to provide the channel for the layman to directly (or under the impression) voice their ideas and concerns to their president.
Some of Obama’s tweets are:
2:37 PM Jun 10th : Check out the #OFA Health Care Action Center - call Congress, display your support, submit a question and more http://bit.ly/fAu60
8:27 AM Jun 4th : “I've come here to Cairo to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims” – watch the President’s speech: http://bit.ly/3lWLt
11:42 AM May 28th : Join Organizing for America to fight for real health care reform. Host or attend a Health Care Organizing Kickoff: http://bit.ly/cSMlF#OFA
Obama’s tweets work as they direct his supporters to directly contribute to his policy-making and reforms. Compare this to our very own Prime Minister Najib Razak’s tweets:
4:21 AM Jun 16th : 8.30pm – Felda Dinner function, Dewan Perdana FELDA, Kuala Lumpur
10:48 PM Jun 15th : 3pm - Meetings
6:39 PM Jun 14th : 15/06/09 : 10.30am - Proposed answering of questions at Parliament
Perhaps Najib can learn a few things from his American counterpart about the importance of value-added tweets in opposed as just using it as on online diary of his daily activities.
A good tweeter gives value to his followers.
By Max Koh
Politicians were twittering on the side as MP Nizar was kicked out of Dewan Rakyat minutes after his swearing-in.
On Monday, Twitter made its debut in Dewan Rakyat as four MPs update the world about the Bubar DUN commotion as it happened. MAX KOH writes
Last Monday’s Parliament proceedings saw history in the making when MP Nizar Jamaluddin was ordered out of the hall just minutes after taking his oath as the new Bukit Gantang MP.
The former Perak Menteri Besar was kicked out as he violated the House’s dress code for donning a black headband with the words “Bubarkan DUN (Dissolve the state assembly)” and shouting “Hidup rakyat, bubar dewan! (Long live the people, dissolve the state assembly).
Several Pakatan Rakyat MPs followed suit by putting similar head and arm bands and were ordered out too.
At the same time, another history was being made on the side: opposition MP Lim Kit Siang was busy tweeting on his mobile as the events played out. Prior to that, he asked a few to join him too.
Anyone with a mobile phone and following Kit Siang’s Twitter would have known events in the Dewan Rakyat as they unfolded.
10.11am: pandemonium in hse nizar ordered out of house by speaker
10.12am: 2 other pr mps ordered out of house
10.16am: speaker orders pas mp out 4 wearing headband "bubar dun"
In response, Khairy Jamaluddin would give his own version of events from his Blackberry:
10.18: Opposition MPs defy speaker by insisting on wearing "Bubar DUN" headbands. Speaker warns but ignored, several opp MPs asked to leave.
10.19: Childish, unproductive and a mockery of Parliament.
10.21: Everything started when Nizar ex-MB started shouting "Hidup, hidup" after being sworn in. Grandstanding for the TV cameras. Sigh. Poser.
Pakatan Rakyat’s Jeff Ooi and Tony Pua joined the fray . For the first time, Twitter made its debut in Dewan Rakyat- another addition to the arsenal of media tools politicians are using to reach out of the august hall.
Malaysian politicians are known for their usage of new media tools such as
blogs, Facebook, website. It appears that Twitter is poised to take political ring by storm in the near future.
Politweets and the Rakyat
Twitter is a social network tool where users can broadcast messages to his friends within 140 characters.
The messages are updated and sent to other users – known as followers – who received the tweets via the Twitter website, short messaging messages (SMS) and other external applications.
Twitter is also a conversational tool as it allows users to response to tweets.
Some of the local politicians have been using Twitter to directly reach out to their electorates, making the conversation appear personal and direct.
Among some of the actively tweeting politicians are Khairy Jamaluddin, Jeff Ooi, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak.
These updates often appear as their personal thoughts on current events in addition to entries of their daily activities and whereabouts.
Occasionally, they would address personal questions from electorates, akin to responding to a comment on their blog.
Take Khairy’s reply for an example: “Some are good. Some are downright dubious” to Yoon Kit’s question: “Will our Ministries ever be headed by people based on qualification instead of affiliation? Or at least some rudimentary knowledge?”
How is Twitter going to change Malaysian politics?
First, Twitter makes it so much easier for politicians to send out information as they happen. As politicians can tweet from anywhere with just their mobile phones, they could give first-hand accounts of Dewan Rakyat proceedings or public events.
Of course, it would appear that politicians would become journalists themselves by bypassing the journalists to provide first-hand accounts as they happen.
Secondly, because Twitter functions in real-time, politicians can directly answer to immediate questions posed by their followers.
Imagine, if you can pose a question directly to an MP during a debate in Dewan Rakyat?
While the Twittering phenomenon has yet to take the local political arena by storm, there is a surge of users subscribing to the service in Malaysia.
New media entrepreneur Josh Lim found that there are about 120,000 users tagged under Malaysia.
This is a stark increase from 3,000 users as stated by Bruno Peeters (of Twitterfacts.com) in December 2008.
While there are no official statistics, what is certain is that tens of thousands of Malaysians are currently twittering as assumed by The Star reporter Niki Cheong.
During the March 8 elections, thousands of Malaysians logged on to websites such as Malaysiakini in order the get the latest updates on the results.
Imagine the next elections as Malaysians log unto Twitter and its search engine to find out the latest results.
Breaking news couldn’t be any faster unless you were there in the ballot room itself.
Malaysian politicians are known for their adaptation of new media tools in order to reach out to the nation in projecting their thoughts and rallying their support- first through blogs, Facebook and now Twitter.
Kit Siang has about 1,200 followers, Khairy has 930 followers while Prime Minister has about 1,900 followers. Expect to see more politicians signing up for Twitter in the near future.
***
SIDEBAR: GOOD TWEETS, BAD TWEETS
While anyone can simply open up a Twitter account and start tweeting, there is a distinct difference between a good and bad tweeters.
There is a reason why Ashton Kutcher can amass up to 2 million followers while the regular Muthu may have only a couple of followers consisting of family members, friends and colleagues.
Obama became of the first prominent politician to harness the power of social media to become the 44th President of United States.
Part of his success was to engage young voters through his use of social media tools such as MySpace, Youtube and Twitter.
During the presidential campaign, Obama would tweet from his Blackberry to inform his followers about his activities and get support for his rallies.
His tweets would often include links to his website which contains live videos of his rallies or speeches.
Obama’s Twitter page works because he directly engages the followers and invites them to have a personal engagement in the campaign. Today, Obama has about 1.5 million followers where he continues to lobby support for his policies and gather feedbacks and questions.
What Twitter has done is to provide the channel for the layman to directly (or under the impression) voice their ideas and concerns to their president.
Some of Obama’s tweets are:
2:37 PM Jun 10th : Check out the #OFA Health Care Action Center - call Congress, display your support, submit a question and more http://bit.ly/fAu60
8:27 AM Jun 4th : “I've come here to Cairo to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims” – watch the President’s speech: http://bit.ly/3lWLt
11:42 AM May 28th : Join Organizing for America to fight for real health care reform. Host or attend a Health Care Organizing Kickoff: http://bit.ly/cSMlF#OFA
Obama’s tweets work as they direct his supporters to directly contribute to his policy-making and reforms. Compare this to our very own Prime Minister Najib Razak’s tweets:
4:21 AM Jun 16th : 8.30pm – Felda Dinner function, Dewan Perdana FELDA, Kuala Lumpur
10:48 PM Jun 15th : 3pm - Meetings
6:39 PM Jun 14th : 15/06/09 : 10.30am - Proposed answering of questions at Parliament
Perhaps Najib can learn a few things from his American counterpart about the importance of value-added tweets in opposed as just using it as on online diary of his daily activities.
A good tweeter gives value to his followers.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
0
Editorial: Marry girl, get RM10,000
This is an editorial piece I wrote for my college newspaper but it was rejected because it is deemed to "controversial". So thought I 'd share it here instead.
Marry girl, get RM10,000
By Max Koh
Malaysians are obsessed with 3-in-1. Walk into a supermarket and you'll see shelves lined with so many 3-in-1 instant coffee, tea, teacino and other variations (or bastardizations depending on how you look at it) and you know that we as a nation are obsessed with package deals.
Even choosing your broadband from the various providers jostling for your attention becomes an arduous task with so many offers and additional free gifts thrown in.
Seeing the power of such marketing persuasion, the Kelantan's State government has also come up with a package deal of their own. With some very lucrative prizes I must say. Well, if you're a Muslim missionary or preacher.
New Straits Times recently reported that the state government will continue to pay RM10,000 to Muslim missionaries and preachers who marry an Orang Asli woman to prevent them from leaving the religion.
Not a bad deal isn't it? A new wife, some divine brownie points and RM10,000 richer.
This was recently announced by the state's Islamic Development, Education and Dakwah Committee chairman Datuk Nik Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah in an effort to ensure Muslim Orang Asli are not influenced by missionaries of other faiths.
This incentive payment was introduced three years ago in an effort by the state government to convert the indigenous group to Islam. The incentive included free housing, a monthly allowance of RM1,000 and a four-wheel drive vehicle.
The incentive was offered then because the PAS-led state government was not satisfied with the low numbers of Orang Asli conversions through ad-hoc initiatives under the various state-sponsored movements.
A state official shared that the conversion was "too slow" as only 2000 out of the 13,000 in the State has only converted then.
A State Government’s Orang Asli Dakwah Unit was established then with dedicated personnel tasked specifically to convert Orang Asli.
The fact that there is a specific government body to convert Orang Asli is a form of discrimination against the indigenious group. How can there be a state-run initiative to convert a particular racial group when religion is supposed to be a personal decision between a person and God?
The policy is borne out of arrogance and complete disregard of the human rights of these people.
The policy drew flak from both the Muslim and non-Muslim communities then. Colin Nicholas, director of the Centre for Orang Asli Concerns, said that the policy discriminates against the indigenious group and shows a great lack of respect for their culture and religion.
Dr. Denison Jayasooria, a commissioner with the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) said: "The utilization of state resources as a motivation for preachers to convert Orang Asli is an abuse of power and violation of the basic right, especially the freedom of thought, conscience and religion by monetary inducement."
He added that such reward to entice vulnerable and marginalised women is "unethical and unacceptable even from any religious perspectives."
I don't know about you, but mustn't a conversion to a different religion be borne out of sincere belief in that faith and God? Somehow, I find the dangling of such lucrative carrots can cast serious doubt to the sincerity of such conversions.
And there is also the danger of a Muslim man marrying an Orang Asli woman just to get these awards at the expense of these women. What's to stop them from divorcing another to marry another, or taking up a second and third wife?
My recent visit to an Orang Asli village on Carey Island proved my point. The ketua kampung was complaining to the government official that the three converted families continue to live their old lives as though they have not embraced the Islamic faith. They don't pray five times daily and continue to eat food that is non-halal. What is conversion without true understanding and love?
I believe Islam is a beautiful faith. But religion is not a commodity. You cannot package religion and offer it like you would offer a 3-in-1 broadband package deal. Let someone convert out of a true and sincere heart, not because of the goodies offered.
As Muslim blogger Art Harun wrote: "If these Orang Asli women have no faith in Islam, it matters not whether they are married to a Muslim or otherwise. Deep down in their heart, they might not have the faith anyway."
I think they have to stop dangling carrots in the name of religion, no matter what the intentions may be.
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