That is the same in politics. The battle needs to be fought on many fronts. And the Internet is one front. Barisan Nasional, of course, wins the electronic media war (since they own the TV stations and TV coverage is 97-98%) while the opposition wins the ceramah/rally war (no one attends Umno or BN ceramahs).
NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin
First take a look at the statistics below:
a) 44% of Internet users are in Asia and 56% the rest of the world.
b) The Internet penetration in Asia is 23.8% compared to 30.2% for the world average.
c) Malaysia ranks number 10 in Asia in terms of Internet users.
d) Malaysia’s Internet penetration is 16,902,600 or 58.8% of the population from only 3,700,000 ten years ago.
If I know all this do you think Umno and Barisan Nasional do not? And do you think that Umno and Barisan Nasional do not know that the walloping they got in March 2008 was partly due to the Internet? And why do you think one of the considerations for deciding on candidates in the next general election will be how active that person is on the Internet (in particular those contesting urban seats) and whether they have Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, etc., accounts?
I know that some sceptics pooh-pooh the Internet and say that the Internet alone is not enough to decide the next general election. This is typical narrow-minded and one-track mind Malaysian thinking.
Who said the Internet alone is enough to decide the next general election? We are saying that the Internet is going to contribute to the next general election, and a significant contributor at that too. Of course the Internet alone is not enough. Newspapers alone are also not enough. Ceramahs and rallies alone are also not enough.
It has to be a combination of the Internet, newspapers, TV, ceramahs and rallies. This is because there are many ‘markets’, not just one ‘market’, and all have to play their role in covering the many ‘markets’.
In the old days, wars were simple. Everyone just charges each other and the last man standing wins the battle. Then it began to get more sophisticated. They introduced bowmen (archers), horsemen (cavalry), seamen (navy) and on on.
And because England had the best archers (the longbow men), they dominated France and ruled quite bit of French territory. Later, England developed its navy and that allowed them to rule the world (even Spain got walloped when they ‘singed, meaning burned, the King of Spain’s beard’).
Wars today are even more complicated. We need the army, navy, air force, etc., and it is divided into logistics, infantry, artillery, cavalry, reconnaissance, intelligence, and so on. No longer is it about one group of people charging another group of people.
That is the same in politics. The battle needs to be fought on many fronts. And the Internet is one front. Barisan Nasional, of course, wins the electronic media war (since they own the TV stations and TV coverage is 97-98%) while the opposition wins the ceramah/rally war (no one attends Umno or BN ceramahs).
So now it is left to the Internet to tip the scales. The Internet is going to give that last push and help decide the victor. In a way you can say that the Internet is going to be the kingmaker in a situation where it is a neck-to-neck between TV and ceramah.
We must not forget that the Internet triggered the ‘Arab Spring’ uprising and President Obama won because of the Internet. And the Internet too is going to impact Malaysian general elections.
Presidential Elections in the Internet Era http://articles.technology.findlaw.com/2008/Sep/02/11203.html
How Obama’s Internet Campaign Changed Politics http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/07/how-obamas-internet-campaign-changed-politics/
Internet's Broader Role in Campaign 2008 http://www.people-press.org/2008/01/11/internets-broader-role-in-campaign-2008/
The Internet and the 2008 Election http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2008/The-Internet-and-the-2008-Election.aspx
The Role of the Internet in Presidential Campaigns http://www.jameswchesebro.com/2009/11/the-role-of-the-internet-in-presidential-campaigns/
The role of internet and social networking in the Arab spring http://www.syrianaaa.com/2011/05/role-of-internet-and-social-networking.html
Arab spring = Facebook revolution #1?http://www.nato.int/docu/review/2011/Social_Medias/Arab_Spring/EN/index.htm 
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