By Niza Shimi
It was Richard Nixon who first used the term, “the great silent majority” in calling for the American people to support him in his efforts to end the Vietnam War in a speech in 1969. Polls appeared to indicate that a "silent majority" sided with Nixon.
The online Britannica definition for “the silent majority” is the largest part of a country's population that consists of people who are not actively involved in politics and do not express their political opinions publicly.
In this age of social media, where the “netizens” (internet citizens) lurk vicariously, does the silent majority still exist anymore? It would seem like the majority are no longer as silent as they could have been in Nixon’s time.
Perhaps, that would be best. There’s healthy interaction between voters and the candidates vying to represent them in Parliament should they win Malaysia’s 15th general elections (GE15). It's a good thing that Malaysians are no longer silent.
But the term most often used in Malaysia, rather than silent majority, is fence sitter. These are the undecided, the wait-and-see and the go-with-the-flow-whatever and the I’ll-vote-for-the-winning-side types. Now that the voting age has been lowered and there’s automatic voter registration, the number of fence sitters could be sizable.
What’s interesting about Malaysia is the creative ways politicians are going about wooing the undecided, especially among the new voters. You’ll find candidates vying for attention in various attempts to attract attention.
The war of words and the battle of the campaign flags will be followed by walkabouts, praying in mosques for Muslim candidates, a cuppa at the local Kopitiam (coffee shop), attending weddings, visits to local businesses and wet markets, among others.
The sight of city-born candidates trying to speak colloquial Malay, eating traditional food with hand and sitting cross-legged on the floor is a sight to behold. They may be awkward, but they are good sports.
The fun campaign atmosphere was kicked off by Perikatan Nasional’s candidate for Tambun, Datuk Seri Faizal Azumu’s (better known as Peja) cheeky welcome to Pakatan Harapan’s contender Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Peja won the seat under the PKR ticket in GE14. Things are getting hairy in Tambun, Perak.
Bi-racial candidates add interesting colour with former Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik under the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government whose mother is Chinese showing off his Hakka fluency in a TikTok message. Maszlee is standing for a second term in Simpang Renggam, Johor.
Barisan Nasional’s candidate for Alor Gajah, Melaka Shahril Sufian Hamdan, who has a Chinese mother, has also been posting videos on social media. The video where he tells of his background has been viewed more than a million times. No mean feat, that!
Feisty lawyer and social activist, Siti Zabedah Kasim (better known as Siti Kasim) is contesting for the Batu, Kuala Lumpur constituency against nine others. She’s chosen to stand out wearing an Orang Asli headgear and accessories. But her tough stance on many issues probably gets more attention.
Perhaps the true test of a potential winner is how the candidates deal with the flood situation, especially in parts of Selangor. The Phua Chu Kang-style yellow rubber boots are in fashion among candidates. Let's hope this fashion is not going to be a necessity on voting day.
The handshakes and smiles continued even when rival teams met at the same venue. That’s the right spirit. Malaysians may fight like crazy on social media, but in real life we are a civilized lot. Fortunately! The real battle to win over the silent majority and fence sitters could still be in social media.
Niza Shimi is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav.
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