The Internet and the rise of Malaysian cyber democracy: An analysis of the 1999 and 2008 General Elections

The Internet was used as a campaign medium for the first time in Malaysia during the 1999 General Election following its effective role in furthering the Reform cause (Reformasi) of 1998. This article analyses the impact of political campaigns run through the Internet in the 1999 and 2008 General Elections. The findings were threefold: first, in the 1999 general election, the intensive use of the Internet campaigning purposes by the opposition had managed to articulate well the Reformasi issues. Second, the widespread and intensive use of the Internet by the opposition in the General Election of 2008 had managed to elucidate many of the governance issues and intensify debates among the Internet users manifesting the rise of a virtual cyber democracy as people found themselves free to air critical and controversial views. Finally, political campaigns through the Internet had impacted the results of both General Elections: in the 1999 General Election, support for the ruling Umno-based National Front had declined while in the 2008 General Election, the National Front’s achievement plummeted severely when, for the first time, they failed to obtain a two-third majority of the parliamentary seats.