“Life has no smooth road for any of us; and in the bracing atmosphere of a high aim the very roughness stimulates the climber to steadier steps, till the legend, over steep ways to the stars, fulfills itself”.
As salamualaikum, and a very good morning
Different from previous years, Social Media Week 2016 kicks off today with a new filled agenda at display. A new revolution, a momentous occasion awaits as for the first time ever in the history of Social Media Week Malaysia features some of the most instrumental aspects if not all elements of the government and the rise of the new media.
I, Rizmel Nazrin, Vice President of Social Media Chambers and the organizing chairman for todays programme, someone new and relatively young in the chambers, is presented today with a rather challenging responsibility humbled by this opportunity to share my visions and hope for the future of tomorrow.
In 2008, Mr Barack Obama graced us with his presence in elegance, eloquence and flair for the position for his bid towards the presidency which he went on to swipe through votes and won. His social media campaign was tremendously sound and immensely effective to reach beyond its potential. The whole world was amazed by the first African American president. His infamous “Yes We Can” image travelled every corner of the world and this was possible due to the influential power that the social media had at the time.
On the flip side of the coin, in December 2010, the colossal damage in Arab Springs was prominent and prevalent as social media was the medium for many of the destructions that were causing unrest and feuds amongst its people. Well, the feuds had repercussions that permanently changed the landscape of governments in the Middle East forever . When other medias were eventually not working, the Facebook’s, the Twitter’s, the Instagrams’s were used to gather hundreds thousands of people, mostly young ones to demonstrate all over the roads of Egypt, the outskirts of Libya, and the towns of the Syrian people that ended up toppling their own governments and bureacracies. This, right here Is a great epitome of how governments in the Middle East at the time did not much understand the potential of social media.
These are two great examples of contrasting effects of social media in the government.
Now, lets turn our attention to our land of “sawah padi”, “nasi lemak” and “the tariks”, our beloved Malaysia. In recent years, Malaysia has been speculated to be involved in the heat of so many different political and economic scandals, IMDB, 2.6billion, etc. These speculations have flooded all over social media and certainly impacted the lives of many Malaysians in this time of age. Whether these speculations are valid or not, it is a secondary matter, but it is important for the government to take necessary measures to address the issues at hand intelligently and engage the public.
Bearing that in mind, for many years now, the government of Malaysia has improvised the “sexy” factor of social media to its full potential. “Fit Malaysia” campaign, is one of the many great social media campaigns promoted by the Ministry of Youth and Sports had certainly garnered the attention of the masses of Malaysia on the importance of practicing healthy lifestyle.
Thus, hence this year, this important breakthrough in Social Media Week Malaysia 2016 to include the new revolution; “Government and The New Media” will prove to be an important foundation for the government to make full use of the positives of social media to promote the policies and engagement to the public in a way that has never been done before, a more systematic, comprehensive and effective approach in order to keep our beloved nation safe and prosperous.
Hence, as the organizing chairman for today’s program, this is a start of something new and better, something that will be talked about for many years to come, highly and positively as the the potential of social media in shaping the government policies is undeniable. And not to also forget, social media can be used harshly at times. Certain trolls or memes are widely made use to make fun of something and meant to disrespect someone or a holy institution, racial slurs made by certain groups are there to divide the “1 Malaysia” motto we hold dearly and it is more important to realize news are being made viral even before we could confirm It’s validity and truth. My point is simple. In whatever we do, never disregard ethics, and respect for each other. Same, as social media evolves, stopping or banning social media may not be the way, but as the government and the public gather together, lets learn to respect each other, it’s ok to know that we agree to disagree and have differing ideas of making things work, ultimately defining and stating the truth go along a way in continuously building the beautiful and unified society we love to see in the Malaysian social media hub.
“Watch your words as they become your actions, watch your actions as they become your character, watch your character as they become your habits.”
Rizmel Nazrin
Vice President of Social Media Chambers / Exco Malaysian Youth Council
