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.

---

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.

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.

Malaysia: Mass and KL Elite Mobility

#KhorReports #mobility research. Malaysia mass mobility and Kuala Lumpur (KL) elites mobility combined in one chart. You can see: (i) the panic shopping before the #lockdown: (ii) the crowded recreation parks situation; (iii) the apparently faster reaction of the KL elites pre- and post- lockdowns; and (iv) the re-lockdown (looser mode).

Interesting to see how the indices measure against the first lockdown proper and the business-as-usual phase that was interrupted by the surge of #Covid19 cases emanating from Sabah (its state election was cited as a “how not to” by Bloomberg; but cases were also spreading from Kedah).

Khor Reports mobility and consumer sentiment review