Pas MPs have been urged to take a leaf out of Umno's social media playbook, Dr Akmal Saleh and Mohd Noor Helmy Abdul Halem, as supporters and observers point to its reversal of fortune on the cyber front.
In GE15, the Islamist party reaps the most parliamentary seats, becoming the single largest party in the August House with 43 Pas lawmakers sworn in. Pas, along with Bersatu, bet on TikTok to catapult their hitherto unforeseen domination of Malay votes.
However, a recent complaint among the general public is that the opposition bloc has been slacking and has not championed the people's cause as fiercely as previous opposition. The greenwave has subsided, some said.
Admittedly, their influence and messaging on social media are greatly challenged by the mixed government coalition. As the government of the day, government lawmakers and parties have the advantage of delivering results and solving the people's complaints faster, thereby giving them a 'feel-good' factor among internet users.
Two Umno state assemblymen stood out on TikTok: Dr Akmal Saleh, representative of Merlimau and Noor Helmy, representative of Duyung. A quick check on their content portfolio reveals how they capture public attention and showcase their roles as active representatives.
Videos of both of them attending to the needs and complaints of their constituents are often published. It is a visual resume of what they have done, and the people were not mistaken in electing them. This is the effective messaging from their visuals.
This situation was raised in a recent Pas dinner with media and influencers attended by this author. Party members have openly challenged the party's leadership over their communication weaknesses.
Pasir Mas MP Ahmad Fadhli Shaari, who is also Pas information chief, hosted the Q&A session alongside Deputy President Idris Ahmad.
There was a list of reasons for their decline of positive perception: "The media only focuses on controversy", "our debate in Parliament did not reach the wider audience", and "Our supporters do not help in rallying our content".
The last-mentioned reason ticked one supporter who urged Pas MPs to beef up their content and emulate Dr Akmal and Noor Helmi's approach on social media platforms. He added that supporters are more than ready to help their leaders reach out to their content, but the content must be of quality.
Speaking to this author at the dinner, Tangga Batu MP Bakri Jamaluddin said that Pas does not employ full-cyber troopers or 'read bean army'.
“Everything we do relies on volunteers. That’s why we need to encourage our members to promote content from PAS and PN representatives proactively,” he said.
Bakri, who also serves as PAS Melaka’s Information Chief, acknowledged that Akmal and Helmy’s favourable perception is aided by their positions as government representatives.
“When they see a clogged drain, they just make a call, and contractors show up because they’re Excos. If it's me, there’s no such guarantee,” he said, adding that Umno's loyal supporters and followers will share videos of Akmal and Noor Hemli, amplifying the reach and taking advantage of TikTok's algorithm to do the rest of the job.
With over a million PAS members, Bakri believes that if each one played their part, the reach of their videos could expand significantly.
Meanwhile, Bakri shared his avoidance of confrontational tactics, particularly toward government civil servants.
“My TikTok content is not aggressive. If there’s an issue, I write a letter and thank the Minister,” he said, emphasizing his reluctance to resort to populist actions on social media.
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