Song of Angry Men: Social Media Campaign Ramps Up as Malaysians Protest Against Government

In recent weeks, several events have heated up social media in Malaysia: the announcement of the indefinite Phase One of the Movement Control Control, rising cases of suicide due to pandemic-related hardships, insensitive reactions to the #BenderaPutih (white flag) movement by politicians, including trying to hijack or out-right dismissing the campaign, just to name a couple. On the international front, Malaysia is making headlines again for the wrong reason—National Geographic described the country as “one of the worst affected in the region,” while the Economist ranks Malaysia last in its return-to-normalcy index.

Malaysians apparently have had enough.

On 3rd July, the #BenderaHitam (black flag) campaign started on social media. The hashtag, along with its simpler but widely popular sibling hashtag #lawan (fight), recording a cumulative total of more than 200,000 mentions (and counting) mostly on Twitter (and including some count in blogs, and online media etc.), in the past week alone. The movement essentially makes three demands: (1) for the immediate resignation of Prime Minister Mahiaddin Yasin (alias Muhyiddin Yassin); (2) for immediate reopening of Parliament; and (3) for the end to the state of Emergency.

The campaign has escalated after months of the #KerajaanGagal (failed government) hashtag and its iterations, including #KerajaanCirit, which trended after a two-sentenced press statement from the Prime Minister’s Office announcing that the embattled leader has been hospitalised due to diarrhoea.

Note: #lawan records a staggering number of mentions, leaving us wondering whether this online campaign is Malaysia’s most successful thus far. We think #lawan's popularity could be breaking some all time records in Twitterjaya.

The visceral anger from Malaysians seems triggered by the dubious conduct of the political elite, including, among others, illicit durian gatherings, official derision of the #BenderaPutih campaign, police investigation on the #BenderaHitam movement, and overseas trips. These put Malaysian citizens at odds with the country’s authorities.

On the business front, rumours and news of questionable land deals happening such as the Subang Airport deal and mining activities at Tasik Chini are abound, driving a stark contrast with the litany of reports of Malaysians struggling to get by amid the Covid-19 lockdowns. Malaysia’s upcoming 5G project, weighing in at RM11 billion (versus recent direct fiscal support of RM5 billion and RM10 billion for the needy bottom strata of Malaysia society), has gone viral in WhatsApp speculation. The sound of billions may not be sitting well with worries about more Malaysians falling deeper into financial despair and students still struggling to get access to the internet.

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Hello there!

If you are able, do consider donating to organisations helping communities in need. Author Hanna Alkaf has compiled a useful Twitter thread on of #BenderaPutih initiatives here: thread of #BenderaPutih initiatives. Alternatively, KitaJagaKita maintains a fully verified list of the same over at their website: KitaJagaKita.com.

There is now also a map of food banks available throughout Malaysia created by Twitter user @penangstrays that can be shared to those who need the help: Food Banks: public food banks in Malaysia.

A Tale of Two Politicians: Malaysians Calling for Azmin and Tajuddin's Resignations

Malaysians have been calling for the metaphorical heads of two prominent politicians, Tajuddin Abdul Rahman and Azmin Ali, after a series of gaffes that left the public seething.

Tajuddin was the former chairman of Prasarana Malaysia Berhad, a GLC which operates the Light Rapid Transit (LRT) system. After the LRT crash near KLCC on 24 May, Tajuddin gave a press conference the next day, which many have described as appalling. He was fired from his position on 26 May. Recently, Tajuddin defended his behaviour at the aforementioned press conference, claiming he was “humiliated” and threatening to sue those who had allegedly “tarnished his reputation.”

Azmin is the current minister of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), the seemingly sole ministry initially responsible for operating the system issuing letters for allowing businesses to operate during the MCO 3.0. Business owners, including SMEs and hotel operations, have complained about problems in obtaining these approval letters, including from technical issues not unlike the ones during the AstraZeneca registrations. This, coupled with reports of non-essential businesses being allowed to operate as well as unclear lockdown SOPs, have led to an online petition calling for Azmin's resignation. As of 4.30 p.m. on 17 Jul, the petition has garnered almost 240,000 signatures.

Here We Go Again: GPS All Set to Win Sarawak Election

Compiled by Poltracker

Covid-19 pandemic and the declaration of Emergency on 12 January have cooled off talks of a snap poll at the national level but not quite in the case of Sarawak.

On 22 January, it was reported that the Sarawak government plans to appeal to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to lift the emergency order in the state if it can bring the Covid-19 situation to a manageable level. This would then pave way for the state election.

The present state government has a mandate until June while the Emergency order is expected to be in force until 1 August. An election must be held within 60 days of the expiration of the mandate or dissolution of the state assembly. The Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance 2021 among others stipulated that general elections, state elections and by-elections, as well as Parliament and State Legislative Assembly sittings, will not be held as long as the emergency is in force.

Sarawak has had good control of the spread of the pandemic with tight border controls and mandatory quarantine of 14 days upon arrival, thereby keeping its cases low. However, in the past month, there has been a surge in cases which have since spread to the longhouses and interior part of the state. Presently at daily three-digit high, it would take some weeks to bring down the numbers again.

A total of 82 state seats are up for grabs at the 12th state election. Gabungan Party Sarawak (GPS) has control of the state with 68 seats. GPS was created post 2018 general election where the Sarawak-based parties withdrew from Barisan Nasional (BN) but remained friendly to them. The opposition bloc has the remaining 14 seats.

GPS, led by Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Openg who took over the state leadership after the demise of the late Tan Sri Adenan Satem in 2017, has been dishing out aids to the people and businesses since the onset of the pandemic.

To date, its Bantuan Khas Sarawakku Sayang (BKSS) has spent almost RM3 billion to mitigate the impact of Covid-19. The relief from BKSS has been well received and will to a certain extent help to shore up support for GPS which will bode well for the coming election.

The pandemic has also resulted in the state tightening its entry rules. In October last year, the state announced that all election workers and campaigners from outside Sarawak must obtain a work permit from the state Immigration Department before they are allowed entry in the event of a state election. This, to a certain extent, would put a spanner in the opposition machinery. 

The opposition front especially Democratic Action Party (DAP) had in past elections relied on many out of state campaign workers which include polling and counting agents. The outsiders were known to be more vocal and assertive when dealing with issues especially at the polling and counting centres as compared to local election workers, a fact that did not escape Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah.

Uggah warned Sarawakians that campaign workers from the peninsula are known for their more aggressive or robust behaviour.

“Let us not be cowed by them nor should we imitate them,” he said when announced the work permit requirement.

While there is a movement to take Sarawak out from Malaysia, it is not expected to make any headway for now. Bread and butter for the ordinary man on the street and development of better infrastructure for rural areas remain the issues at hand. 

While the opposition had a good chance of giving GPS a run for its money, had the election been called when Pakatan Harapan (PH) was in power at the Federal level, it would be another uphill battle to wrestle the state.

The opposition has yet to work out the seat allocation between them to avoid contesting against each other. Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Sarawak has issued an ultimatum to Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) that a deal must be reached by the end of the month. PKR had lost some seats when some assemblymen left the party when the PH government collapsed and has targeted to win six to seven seats at the next election.

PKR state chairman Larry Sng has indicated that the party is willing to negotiate half of their seats identified to be contested in the coming election in the interest of the PH coalition. 

“However, it is unacceptable for us to give away seats which the party had previously won, particularly Batu Lintang and Ba Kelalan,” Sng said. Both the assemblymen for the two seats, See Chee How and Baru Bian, quit PKR in 2020 and have since joined PSB. 

PH Sarawak and DAP Sarawak chairman Chong Chieng Jen said the opposition coalition is willing to negotiate with PSB for the next state election with a ‘3+3+3+1’ formula on the seat allocation between political parties where DAP, PKR and PSB each contest 30 per cent of the constituency seats in the state election, while Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) would be contesting the remaining 10 per cent of the seats.

As to whether the opposition can retain or increase their current 14 seats in the state assembly, the key lies in striking a deal that would avoid contesting each other.

As for GPS, it is set to retain control of the state once more.

By the PolTracker team, 4 Feb 2021

Second Time's the Charm: Malaysia and the State of Emergency

Compiled by Poltracker

Just 13 days into 2021, the country’s political climate remains turbulent with removal and growing calls for a snap poll from Umno despite the raging Covid-19 pandemic. 

To make things even more interesting, a state of Emergency on 12 January to combat the pandemic. This has resulted in the suspension of Parliament and state assemblies. It will keep things on simmer for now and put an end to any talks of an immediate general election.

Umno delivered a surprise on 5 January when Federal Territories Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa was removed as secretary-general for Barisan Nasional (BN). Annuar’s ‘crime’ was alleged to be the voice of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) in BN.

Days after the removal, Annuar had slammed those in his party for calling for a snap election amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Urging for elections when the people and the country are struggling with Covid-19, floods, the economy, clearly reflects not only the irresponsibility, but also the hunger for power and the lack of sensitivity to the people’s suffering. That is not the will of the grassroots,” said the Ketereh MP in his Twitter account.

His comment echoed Umno minister and Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin who said any section of Malaysia seeking a general election alongside the Covid-19 pandemic was “selfish” and “irresponsible”, and acknowledged that the group included those from his party.

Umno has been pushing for snap poll for the past few months in both subtle and not so subtle manner. In October last year, it had threatened to pull out of the PN coalition and more recently Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had said elections could be held with Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) in place.

"Why are we afraid of holding a general election during the pandemic? More than 30 countries have already done so… Why is Malaysia is so afraid? I think that we're not really scared of Covid-19 but of other things," he said in his opening speech at the Bagan Datuk Umno division meeting on 3 January.

While Annuar has remained supportive of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government, his fellow MPs Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz of Padang Rengas and Machang MP Datuk Ahmad Jazlan Yaakob have withdrawn their support. 

Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin's government is now left with 109 MPs on its bloc out the current 220 MPs. The Dewan Rakyat is comprised of 222 seats but is currently down to 220 following the deaths of Batu Sapi MP Datuk Liew Vui Keong and Gerik MP Datuk Hasbullah Osman last year.

At 109, the PN government does not have the simple majority support of the Dewan Rakyat.

Umno was scheduled to discuss its ties with Bersatu at its General Assembly at the end of this month but that will put on hold as Kuala Lumpur has been put on MCO until 26 January with probable extension due to the rising number of positive Covid-19 cases.

It is obvious that UMNO is the key component to keeping Muhyiddin’s coalition alive. PN’s government’s legitimacy has been questioned since the Sheraton move last February. More withdrawal of support from UMNO’s MPs will make the government untenable, Emergency or not.

The only thing that remains in Muhyiddin’s favour is the challenge for the opposing MPs to hammer a coalition to form a government until such time it is safe to go to the polls.

By Sharon TAN, KHOR Yu Leng, and the PolTracker team, 18 Jan 2021

Editor’s note on the data chart:

• Following the Emergency announcement, the government regulatory body, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), warned netizens to “be polite and courteous” [jaga kesopanan dan kesusilaan: this seems to be taken straight from the Rukun Negara (Malay for the Malaysian declaration of national philosophy), which is generally recited weekly by school students] when expressing opinions online. This carefully worded warning somehow led to Twitter users exposing MCMC past off-colour Tweets, which turned out to be from a previous user from whom they bought their account in an apparent violation of Twitter’s terms and conditions.

• Twitter sentiments on the YDPA appear caught up in problems that users are highlighting for the YDPA’s attention, e.g. complaints about politicians, suggestions to cut their salaries. This means Tweets tagged as a negative sentiment are not actually about the YDPA; it is the issues netizens are urging him to address which are negative. In general, sentiments towards the YDPA are much more favourable compared to sentiments on politicians.

Prepare for Trouble, Make it Double: Anger in Malaysia after Double Standards by Government

In the past two weeks, Malaysians have taken to the social media to vent their frustrations over the handling of the surge of COVID-19.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin who had built his legitimacy on his swift tackling of the COVID-19 earlier this year saw his popular streak came to a grinding halt. Public sentiment turned against him in what they perceived as double-standard when his cabinet members were not subjected to quarantine upon returning from campaigning from Sabah. The government had only imposed quarantine for those returning from Sabah on September 27, a day after the state election.

Anger towards Muhyiddin swelled when in his latest address to the nation, he threatened to ‘rotan’ or cane those who has flouted the SOPs. Hashtags such as #muhyiddinout calling for his ouster, #klustermenteri and #doublestandard gained traction on social media as people voiced their anger towards him. Many felt that he should have ‘caned’ his own cabinet members who have not adhered to the SOPs instead of threatening the public. This came after the minister at the prime minister’s department in charge of Religious Affairs was found to have COVID-19. Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri who had campaigned in Sabah which was a red zone, failed to self-quarantine, instead went on to travel to several other states on official visits. As a result of this, several cabinet members including Muhyiddin were subjected to 14 days quarantine as they had been in the same meeting with Zulkifli.

Maaflah jika abah ini mula menggunakan rotan sekarang. [Sorry that this ‘abah’ is using the cane now.]

Muhyiddin and the government were severely criticised when he was found to not have been issued a pink tag for which is the standard issue for those under quarantine. The Health Ministry came out in defence that Muhyiddin was tested frequently and was found to be negative on all occasions. However, that explanation did nothing to turn the tides.

Last week as the infection numbers surged throughout the country, schools have seen a drop in attendance. Several schools in the Klang Valley were also affected where pupils were confirmed to be positive. In the case of SK Bangsar which had two cases, authorities did not shut down the school despite appeals from parents. The parents then took matters to hand when they collectively did not send their children to attend classes the next day resulting in 0% attendance. This forced the Education Ministry to close the school for a week for purposes of cleaning and sanitation which is the standard practice for premises which have confirmed cases. This move by parents is another outraged against the government’s attitude in tackling the health crisis.

At this time of writing, the government has imposed conditional movement control order (CMCO) from October 14 to 27 on Selangor, Federal Territory Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya (Sabah has also been put under CMCO for 14 days beginning Oct 13) as an effort to stem the spread of the virus.

In the midst of this public anger and political instability, MP Syed Saddiq, who has since established his Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda), has launched the PauseMalaysia campaign (#PauseMalaysia), urging all politicians and political parties to stop their alleged tussle for powers and focus on safeguarding Malaysians from the Covid-19 pandemic

Citing Malaysians as being tired of the power play, the campaign called for ceasefire among all political parties arguing that the people are the ones who suffer as a result of the current spate of power grabbing. Pause Malaysia also asked that there should be no general election as long as the COVID-19 virus continues to spread. Its final request was for the government Opposition and Independent politicians to come together, find a way to cooperate and make the people’s welfare their top priority.

This call for political ceasefire is not unique to MUDA. In August, DAP’s MP Anthony Loke asked for a ceasefire which fell to deaf ears. #PauseMalaysia has yet to gain much traction outside the Twitter sphere. A poll ran by BFM, a local radio station, saw 60% of listeners disagreeing with the campaign while Bridget Welsh, honorary research associate at the University of Nottingham’s Asia Research Institute said that the campaign was mis-named as reality of COVID-19, patronage and politicking will go on. “Some parties already preparing for elections/by-elections. Muda could be seen ironically campaigning through this initiative. 'Pausing' empowers those in power w/o solutions to problems,” said Welsh.

By KHOR Yu Leng, Sharon TAN, and Khor Reports’ PolTracker, 15 Oct 2020