Members of the media have been added to multiple instant messaging groups since Nov 5, the nomination day for the 15th General Election in Malaysia.
Intending to be a one-stop centre for media practitioners, the Communications and Multimedia Ministry set up a virtual media centre (Pusat Media Maya KKOMM), ensuring that the daily activities of the candidates are shared on a single platform.
This came as a huge sigh of relief for journalists and photographers assigned to track the 945 candidates contesting for the 222 parliamentary seats nationwide.
The initiative may be seen as a simple and logical act, one that is expected from the ministry. However, it also shows the maturity of the civil service in remaining apolitical as the election fever hots up.
The ministry, together with its agency, the Information Department of Malaysia, got representatives from political parties across the divide to share the activities of their candidates leading up to the Nov 19 polls.
A spokesman of the ministry explained that the idea was mooted about a month ago, following talks of a looming general election.
A similar initiative was adopted during the Melaka and Johor by-elections held late last year and early this year, respectively. However, this is the first time such a platform was being offered for a general election.
“The main objective is to be a one-stop centre for members of the press to receive information about the candidates’ daily schedule. It is also to provide updates from the Election Commission,” said a spokesman from the ministry.
“We did the same during the Melaka and Johor by-elections and found this to be a cost-effective method to disseminate information quickly and accurately.”
The spokesman said the idea was first mooted by the ministry’s secretary of the strategic communications division, Erwin Khairul Ahmad. Some 10 personnel from the division and the Information Department work in shifts to ensure that the needs of media personnel are met.
“It’s not just about setting up the WhatsApp group and monitoring it. It is also to constantly remind the representatives of all parties to share schedules and information. We will also be posting information from the Election Commission in the coming days leading up to Nov 19.”
The ministry will also provide locations of the polling centres nationwide and the full results of GE15 via the platform.
“The Information Department’s media and corporate communications director, Datuk E. Sivabalan, was also instrumental in getting the representatives from the political parties to agree to share their information via our channel,” the spokesman added.
This, she said, turned the WhatsApp group into an information hub featuring representatives of the different political parties. This allowed media personnel to quickly reach out to the representatives, instead of heading to the individual party’s instant messaging groups.
Political parties are strictly not allowed to campaign on the WhatsApp group.
“If there was a ceramah, the representatives can share pictures and videos of the event via a link, but they are not allowed to post speeches as a message in the group.
“To date, the representatives have been supportive of our platform and they do adhere to the rules. It’s about being fair to all parties.
“As for being apolitical, I’m glad there are those who see it that way. It is our job to disseminate accurate information and we intend to continue to do so,” the spokesman added.
