When Shafie Apdal talks about social media we must listen with great attention. After all this is the man under whose watch the Warisan’s social media strategy operates.
Thus it is with some bemusement that we hear Shafie Apdal tell the youth of Sabah to not fall prey to WhatsApp, TikTok and Facebook propaganda. If they took him at his word, much would be different in Sabah today.
All those stories of water crisis and electricity cuts and bad roads due to poor handling of the GRS government would have panned out differently. Some would have been nipped in the bud. Some would not have even taken off. Some would have never been ballooned into a full-fledged conflagration.
A WhatsApp video of Chief Minister Hajiji Noor addressing in the Sabah State Assembly goes viral. That the doctored video was two years old was discovered later. By then at least…Almost everyone had the clips on their phones.
And remember the story about MUIS that went viral? When a Facebook post that said the CEO of Sabah Islamic Religious Council (Muis) was under investigation for allegations of abuse of power in its administration, it triggered images of Chief Minister Hajiji being silent about the whole matter to inflame passions during the holy month of Ramadan. It also alleged that the CEO of Muis had ordered the transfer of Zakat Fund money of RM14 million without approval. In the end, the story was all made-up by Warisan cybertroopers.
Warisan IT cell member said their priority was to enter at least 1000 WhatsApp groups before the elections.
WhatsApp news can help deliver votes as well. An IT specialist said that he analysed the role of smartphones in the recent 6 state elections in Malaya and also the recent by-election for the Sungai Bakap state seat. He quotes a hardcore Anwar Ibrahim supporter who switched to the PAS after getting WhatsApp messages about Malays losing political power in Malaysia if Anwar remains Prime Minister. The IT cell member said their priority was to enter at least 1,000 WhatsApp groups before the elections. As it happened, by the time Kelantan, Trengganu and Kedah went to the polls they had access to over 500 groups with an average of 150 members per group. So was the case for the by-election in the Sungai Bakap seat, where Pas worked round the clock on their Whatsapp groups and they had close to 5,000 Whatsapp group members.
It would be sobering to think that Shafie has understood that social media is a double-edged sword and can damage as much as it can deliver. After all, the misinformation and lies in social media can prove to be a great problem for governance. WhatsApp rumours of cooking oil and eggs shortage caused panic in November last year. And during Covid the government had to scramble to debunk many conspiracy theories about vaccines that popped up all over the internet.
Alas, Shafie is merely concerned about “anti-Warisan propaganda” on social media.
Shafie told the youth at the Semporna townhall, “I appeal to the youth not to blindly believe the anti-Warisan propaganda being spread on WhatsApp and Facebook and Tiktok… I want you to apply your mind before believing what is being circulated in WhatsApp.“
If only his party’s foot soldiers were as diligent about all social media propaganda. The great bane of social media is we seem to forward first, think later. And many of the Warisan’s trigger-happy internet warriors are prone to that. Thus they create a row by lambasting Hajiji for quotes he never made. But it made the internet warriors happy to have yet another reason to beat up on Hajiji.
The Warisan believed that by personally attacking Hajiji, using derogatory terms, including disparaging remarks about Hajiji’s son, they could weaken him and, thereby, the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS). While Hajiji largely ignored these tactics, occasionally expressing his frustration, the Warisan persisted.
Looking ahead, it seems likely that Warisan will continue to seize every opportunity to personally attack Hajiji. In Sabah, except for Daily Express, most other media outlets, largely driven by profit motives or political agendas, often amplify these attacks, disregarding Hajiji’s significant achievements over the past 3 years. His administration has elevated Sabah’s national standing. Sabah’s economy remains driven by the industrial sector and investment with 2023 seeing RM11.346 billion in total investments, ranked 7th in Malaysia. Hajiji’s government has amassed record reserves of billions of ringgit, accelerated infrastructure projects, and introduced schemes to foster economic growth and social development. Tourism also recovered, with 2.61 million arrivals in 2023. However, these accomplishments receive scant media coverage and are entirely overlooked by opposition parties.
The Warisan’s social media strategy has been the great beneficiary of many of these Warisan supporters. It has benefited mightily from doctored photographs like the one in which Hajiji was having dinner with a controversial Sarawakian businessman which turned out to have been doctored. Or the video where the Warisan goes bragging on Facebook – “major diplomatic success of Shafie”, the Singapore High Commissioner visiting Shafie in his house.
All parties want a piece of the social media pie. Other parties are no saints. It’s just that Warisan has stolen quite a march in the social media wars. The Warisan and its like-minded fraternity of organizations like the Mawar Channel keeps on churning out so many lies and disinformation. In one case, Warisan’s Mawar Channel posted a video that has surfaced online depicting a CEO from a college caught in a compromising situation. The video was later deleted after a police report was made, clowns.
With end-to-end encryption, WhatsApp is the ideal choice for spreading conspiracy theories, fake news alongside jokes and Good Morning messages with blooming flowers. It exists inside its own pre-fabricated echo chamber largely away from prying eyes. But the social media battle happens on all fronts. Told to me by a former editor-in-chief of a news portal, he remembers a social media strategist asking at a meeting with Warisan politicians “What have you gotten to trend on social media today?”
While we are happy to jump on mainstream media for paid news, many of us are quite unaware that we consume and forward “paid” hashtags on Twitter and Facebook and TikTok everyday.
While he was proud of the success of the Warisan social media presence, a Warisan IT cell member also warned, “A dangerous online army of hundreds is following us, which is not even in our control.”
But Shafie has no interest in reining in these demons for they are working quite well for his party for now. He is only concerned about stamping out anti-Warisan propaganda. Luckily for him, few parties can take on that social media army as yet. But it is playing with fire if we truly have a fake news vs fake news war.
In time, opposition parties in Sabah may realize that their sustained personal attacks on Hajiji offer only short-term gains and may ultimately backfire. Endless negativity can exhaust public patience and diminish their own credibility. Meanwhile, Hajiji remains steadfast in his commitment to advancing Sabah’s progress, suggesting that opposition momentum may wane as their tactics prove increasingly ineffective.
What happens if a Frankenstein’s monster grown humungous on its steady diet of fake news one day turns on its master?
*The author, Selvaraja Somiah is a geologist turned freelance writer.
**The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of Sabah Baru News.
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