🇲🇾 MALAYSIA’S NEW CONSTITUENCY

In Malaysia, where the minimum voting age has been lowered to 18, politicians are engaging with young voters on TikTok ahead of the country’s general election which takes place this coming weekend. Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin created a Tiktok video to a hip hop track by Singaporean singer Alyph that has 3.9M views, while Syed Saddiq (a TikTok veteran) is using the platform to motivate young voters. The candidates are using TikTok in different ways, but the common theme? They’re all on it!

💡 Our take

Some political commentators have observed that if Facebook and Twitter are viewed as digital constituencies P223 and P224 (there are 222 seats in Malaysia’s parliament) then TikTok is rapidly becoming P225. Candidates are using the platform to reach large numbers of young voters – which now make up a sizable segment of the electorate – but the benefits aren’t one-way. TikTok gives Gen Z a digital line into parliament and a way to shape political narratives.

Whenever social media collides with politics, questions about integrity and misinformation abound. In Malaysia, TikTok introduced an election report button, fact-checking tools, an election guide, and youth-to-youth outreach through university collaborations. Social media companies need to take responsibility, but creative, pop culture-inspired campaigns can drive digital literacy among Gen Z – Laleilmanino & JKT48’s Berani Bersuara campaign in Indonesia is one example.

There’s ethics to consider, too. A poll by Milieu Insight found that Malaysians aged 18 to 39 are more likely to have less understanding of the current political situation compared to those aged 40+. Should politicians condense complex policies into 15-second soundbites? But if they don’t, will young people engage? These questions run to the heart of democracy in the digital age.

But let’s end this on a positive note. Pop culture and politics are inextricably linked, especially in Southeast Asia where political instability is, more often than not, the norm. Gen Zs are using symbols like Harry Potter and Voldemort to voice political dissent or connecting their Kpop or Taylor Swift fandom to progressive candidates. Through pop culture, younger audiences have an avenue to both process the complexity of politics – by borrowing analogies from a culture they’re most familiar with – and protest for progress. Young voters are making their voices heard – is your brand ready to listen to and champion them?

For those of you born before 1997, ‘fax, no printer‘ is Gen Z speak for ‘undeniable facts I agree with’