JOHOR BARU: Lacking the financial muscle and election machinery of larger rivals, Parti Bersama Malaysia is banking on its strong digital presence to complement its grassroots campaign in the Johor state election.
“We do not have the money and resources and we also do not believe in spending lavishly on campaigning.
“Bersama’s online presence is one of our biggest strengths, some of our nightly online ceramah received more than 15,000 viewers,” said party leader Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli.
He, however, acknowledged that not all those viewers were necessarily Johor voters, but said that social media algorithms would help political content reach the intended audience if it gained sufficient traction.
Rafizi also noted that large-scale activities often attracted party supporters, machinery from outside the constituency or civil servants, rather than undecided voters.
“From my experience, such programmes may be packed but they are not necessarily attractive to fence-sitters.
“The more effective way would be to convey our offer to become the rakyat’s voice and be an opposition party that highlights people’s issues,” said Rafizi, who previously helped manage election campaigns for PKR and Pakatan Harapan.
He said Bersama’s candidates would focus on ground campaigning, allowing them to introduce themselves and engage directly with constituents.
“Our candidates will spend most of their time meeting voters, while major political messaging will be handled by party leaders like Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad and myself during our online and offline ceramah,” he added.
Bersama is contesting 15 seats in the Johor state elections – Bukit Naning, Tiram, Puteri Wangsa, Johor Jaya, Permas, Larkin, Stulang, Perling, Kempas, Skudai, Kota Iskandar, Bukit Permai, Bukit Batu, Mahkota and Senai.
