BARISAN Nasional’s move to launch theRakyat, its official portal for the 14th general election, shows that the ruling coalition has realised the limits of its traditional mainstream media, media practitioners and analysts say.

They said it showed that BN has learned from its mistake in the 12th general election in 2008, when the use of social media, blogs, digital news platforms and chat groups heightened political awareness and led to the ruling coalition losing its two-thirds majority.

Universiti Malaysia Sarawak communication science department lecturer Jeniri Amir said BN’s mistake in 2008 was ignoring the power of the internet.

“BN realises now that it needs an alternative, especially when the circulation of mainstream newspapers have dwindled.

“People now prefer to read news online. So for this coming polls, BN is maximising the use of the internet,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

On Wednesday, BN launched multi-lingual theRakyat as a means to tackle “fake opposition news” in the run up to the 14th general election. Content is in Malay, English, Mandarin, Tamil, Kadazan and Iban.

Jeniri said studies have shown that 92% of Malaysian youths read news off their smartphones, which has moved BN to online means to get their news across.

However, he said BN’s new portal still faced some challenges in order not to be negatively viewed as a “propaganda channel” by the people.

“The portal should not just present BN news without giving room to alternative news.

“This will depend on the wisdom of its editorial leaders and their skills in managing the portal’s content.

“Otherwise, it will suffer the same fate as other BN-owned portals that are badly viewed by the people,” he said.

Nottingham University Malaysia media lecturer Gayathry Venkinetswaran said it was clear that Umno and BN had trouble retaining grassroot support, especially from among the Malays, in the last two decades.

She said it might be that BN has now realised that traditional media could no longer influence voters.

“We are also seeing the decline of media companies in these last two decades.

“But more importantly, this new portal is not going to be used to disseminate accurate or informative news. It will be used for BN propaganda,” she said.

Gayathry, who was formerly coordinator of the Southeast Asia Press Alliance (SEAPA), said BN-controlled portals like theRakyat and others were created for a specific purpose.

They were to get BN Malay votes, which were increasingly split since the forming of Umno splinter party Bersatu by former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, she said.

“It reflects the desperation of the coalition because the election is near. I think the BN strategy is to use social media as much as possible to win grassroots support that is in danger of shifting to Bersatu.

“But the portal won’t be able to change the minds of those who have given their support to the opposition. The other BN component parties also won’t benefit from the portal,” she said.

Gayathry said the new portal also would not offer any good journalism ethics like other media.

“It will only be used to spread propaganda and gain support… Honestly, I would think of it like spam, unsolicited online advertisements aimed at wooing fence sitters and Malays active in cyberspace,” she added.

Prime Minister Najib Razak said during theRakyat’s launch that the portal would be a platform for the people to get “real news” and to “showcase all the efforts that are done by leaders”.

MCA president Liow Tiong Lai said theRakyat would be fully used in the election to gain votes for BN.

“The new portal gives new breath to the coalition. It is a platform to win support this general election while helping BN counter slander and lies by the opposition on social media.

“We can feel the election fever. BN is ready to face fierce competition this time. Among the alternatives (strategy) to win big is by creating this new portal,” he reportedly said. – January 5, 2018.