IT is common for politicians to touch base with their voters over copious amounts of teh tarik and cigarettes in sessions stretching into the wee hours.

Come election time, politicians rely on such nicotine- and tea-fuelled camaraderie with their workers and supporters to plan their campaigns.

But the Covid-19 pandemic has rendered such face-to-face meetings problematic and politicians, forced to adapt to the new reality, are turning to technology for solutions.

“Technology has always played an important role in politics,” PKR strategist Sim Tze Tzin told The Malaysian Insight.

In GE13, political parties used SMS messaging and Facebook to communicate with voters and they extended their reach with WhatsApp during GE14, said Sim.

Politicians now also have recourse to Facebook live for speeches and webinars for forums, he said.

“Similarly, we have begun using platforms, such as Zoom, to hold party meetings,” said the Bayan Baru MP.

“In the past, Sabah and Sarawak representatives found it costly to attend central meetings in Kuala Lumpur. But we now have full attendance since going online.

“In fact, we can now reach a wider audience than with a typical ceramah. By the next general election, ceramah will be streamed directly to smartphones.”

More for less

For Bersatu members vying for a seat on the party’s supreme council, the movement-control order (MCO) could not have come at a worse time, said Ulya Husamddin.

But the Bersatu supreme council member believes they have found a cheaper way to campaign.

“For example, we have been using apps like Zoom for our courtesy calls on grassroots members on the ground,” said Ulya.

“The calls are two-way conversations in small groups, which make addressing concerns and conveying ideas more effective.

“We can micro-target or zoom in to our audiences directly.”

Although he misses face-to-face interaction with members, Ulya said the new normal is time- and cost-effective.

“If done properly, we can hold a ceramah in three different states in a day without having to travel far and spending a big chunk of our funds. Usually logistics is the most expensive part of campaigning. This way we save a lot.

“The money saved can then be channelled to our welfare fund which we have prepared to help our grassroots face the pandemic.”

Ulya expects the trend to continue well after the Covid-19 outbreak has ended.

Downsizing

While small group meetings with party members can be held over Zoom during this period, annual conferences that can attract anywhere from 2,000 to 30,000 members are quite another story.

The Umno general assembly, for example, is a grand affair lasting several days where thousands of members from across the country are present.

“The new normal changes everything. For at least the next two years, we won’t be seeing any big, crowded annual gathering. At least I hope not,” said former senator Khairul Azwan Harun of Umno.

“AGMs, perhimpunan agung Umno and muktamar that are packed to capacity have always been (an opportunity for the organiser) to flex their muscle.

“But now that things have changed, it’s really a test and push for parties to adapt to the new limits.

“The question is, how do we continue to attract young people to join our parties? How can we rally the crowd and excite the grassroots? For me, the key point is that our ideas must now be relevant and thought-provoking.

“Shouting out a well-written speech in a grand hall now is less important than the content of that speech and what it has to offer the country,” said the former deputy Umno Youth chief.

He said digital technology allows leaders to interact more frequently with their followers although they may not “hang out” with them anymore.

Traditional face-to-face interaction is still relevant except with new social norms, such as physical distancing and using a mask.

Moving forward, Khairul believes political organisations must each decide how it should operate day-to-day in a changed environment.

“Umno has always been a grassroots party, so the big question for us is, how do we rally this base without being able to meet them face to face? Is it the end of ‘personal touch’ politics?

“Perhaps so. But this new reality encourages voters to look for the answers themselves rather than rely on politicians to go to them and offer a hand.

“Like it or not, parties and politicians will have to come up with new ways to reach out to their constituents.

“This is now more important than scheduling buses to ferry your supporters to a stadium. The game has changed,” said Khairul, who founded think-tank Cent-GPS. – May 12, 2020.