I started writing this blog in October 2011! Finally on 10 April 2013, the date of the 13th General Election (GE13) was announced. It will be on 5 May. Voter energy built up after the 2008 election (GE12), when for the first time the ruling party did not have a 2/3 majority in Parliament. Following GE12 the opposition controlled 5 states, 3 more than before the 2008 election. The fight to regain control of Penang and Selangor, adjacent to Kuala Lumpur, has been intense. Plus, a battle is brewing in Johor, which nestles next to Singapore.
In 2007 Bersih, a coalition of NGOs, called for clean and fair elections, In 2010 it emerged as Bersih 2.0, an important watchdog and critic of the Election Commission. In 2011 it held a rally that the government declared "illegal." Another rally, Bersih 3.0, was held in 2012 - the government was less confrontation, but a Royal Commission has begun to allocate blame. We were out of country for both rallies. Election Day will be no different; we will be in the US.
For us election anticipation began with the September 2011 release of a video Undilah (undi - vote, lah - added at the end of words for emphasis). It is 4 minutes long, available in English and Malay. Even if you don't know the actors you will appreciate its message and presentation. (The Minister of Information reportedly directed TV stations not to air the video - such is Malaysian politics.)
In the months leading up to election we watched with amazement the government's strategies to win "hearts and minds" and votes - a rebate to youths (21-30) for a smartphone purchase, money to school children, tires for taxi drivers, and so on. Nothing for ex-pats. We can't vote.
The political ads have been something else. No attack ads here in the English media. They are sophisticated productions targeted at specific audiences - language, age, and gender. If you watch I Choose Malaysia, you can pick out the themes that are being used to convince voters not to change the current government. The opposition parties and NGOs have developed their videos as well. These videos are found on youtube and social media. The government/dominant party use social media, television, and movie theatres.
Doug and I have created maps (using BatchGeo) to show where women are running for parliament. It has been a great education. We compiled information on the 23 women MPs out of a parliament of 221 members. (There are 222 parliamentary seats; one woman MP died in 2012 and her seat remained vacant.) We couldn't completely compile the data until nomination day, 20 April. Some parties announced their lists early, so we avoided going completely mad and entered data as we got it Our plan is to create key maps on Monday. To see our work, done with ample help from others, go to euc.empowermalaysia.org
And on Tuesday as the campaign picks up speed we will be on the way to JFK Airport.
In 2007 Bersih, a coalition of NGOs, called for clean and fair elections, In 2010 it emerged as Bersih 2.0, an important watchdog and critic of the Election Commission. In 2011 it held a rally that the government declared "illegal." Another rally, Bersih 3.0, was held in 2012 - the government was less confrontation, but a Royal Commission has begun to allocate blame. We were out of country for both rallies. Election Day will be no different; we will be in the US.
For us election anticipation began with the September 2011 release of a video Undilah (undi - vote, lah - added at the end of words for emphasis). It is 4 minutes long, available in English and Malay. Even if you don't know the actors you will appreciate its message and presentation. (The Minister of Information reportedly directed TV stations not to air the video - such is Malaysian politics.)
In the months leading up to election we watched with amazement the government's strategies to win "hearts and minds" and votes - a rebate to youths (21-30) for a smartphone purchase, money to school children, tires for taxi drivers, and so on. Nothing for ex-pats. We can't vote.
The political ads have been something else. No attack ads here in the English media. They are sophisticated productions targeted at specific audiences - language, age, and gender. If you watch I Choose Malaysia, you can pick out the themes that are being used to convince voters not to change the current government. The opposition parties and NGOs have developed their videos as well. These videos are found on youtube and social media. The government/dominant party use social media, television, and movie theatres.
Doug and I have created maps (using BatchGeo) to show where women are running for parliament. It has been a great education. We compiled information on the 23 women MPs out of a parliament of 221 members. (There are 222 parliamentary seats; one woman MP died in 2012 and her seat remained vacant.) We couldn't completely compile the data until nomination day, 20 April. Some parties announced their lists early, so we avoided going completely mad and entered data as we got it Our plan is to create key maps on Monday. To see our work, done with ample help from others, go to euc.empowermalaysia.org
And on Tuesday as the campaign picks up speed we will be on the way to JFK Airport.
No comments:
Post a Comment