MIRI, Dec 13 — The election fever in the 12th State Election does not seem as high as pre-Covid times, particularly in urban seats, due to standard operating procedures (SOPs) laid out by the Election Commission forbidding physical campaigning.
Hence, candidates are taking their political campaigns to social media, with various live broadcasts sharing their political views and manifestos as well as interacting with their supporters.
In Miri, candidates of political parties such as Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP), Democratic Action Party (DAP), Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB), Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) and Sarawak People’s Aspiration Party (Aspirasi) have held broadcasts on their respective Facebook pages as well as their personal accounts on a daily basis to grab the attention and words of encouragement from their supporters.
One-term Piasau incumbent Datuk Sebastian Ting said the heat of the election was very much alive on social media — his first ever experience in his political career.
“The change is inevitable because of the pandemic. Though it was challenging in the beginning of the campaign, eventually we have to get used to it now and in the future,” Ting said.
The SUPP candidate has been using his Facebook page, ‘A True Kenyalang — Sebastian Ting’, to hold talks for at least an hour every day at 8.30pm.
“So far, my observation is that social media seems to be the most ideal way of reaching the people. Currently, because of social distancing, we may not be able to meet so many people at any one time.
“So being live on social media means can people hear what I am going to say and in return, I am able to read the messages left by commenters. It is a form of proactive approach for us to reach out to voters,” he added.
Prior to nomination day on December 6, his page’s followers numbered about 13,000 and now entering into the eighth day of campaigning, his followers have slightly increased to over 15,000.
Ting also urged netizens to make their own judgement wisely when it comes to political content despite social media now becoming the major platform for campaigning.
“Whether it is fact or inaccurate, it is always good to make good judgement while reading any online content,” he said.
Meanwhile, since December 12, a Facebook page ‘Sarawak Viral’ conducted an online poll where netizens can ‘vote’ for their favourite candidates at their respective constituency for all 82 seats.
As of 5pm on December 13, Ting garnered the highest votes with 37 followed by PSB’s Steve Teo (18) and DAP’s Peter Hee (3).
For Pujut, SUPP candidate Adam Yii garnered the highest votes among netizens with 34 votes, followed by PSB’s Bruce Chai (14) and DAP’s Alan Ling (4).
As for Senadin constituency, SUPP candidate and five-term incumbent Dato Sri Lee Kim Shin garnered the highest online support with 36 votes, followed by PSB’s Lee Tze Ha (15), DAP’s Marcus Hugo Matu Lejau (3) and Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak Baru (PBDSB) Bobby William (2).
The online poll will be going on until the day before polling day this Saturday. — Borneo Post
