Springer Malaysian Politics in the New Media Age: Implications on the Political Communication Process

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the impact of the Internet on Malaysian politics and how it has played a pivotal role in influencing the country’s political climate. It lays out the background of Malaysia’s political history and media environment, and addresses the ramifications of media-isation for the political process, including political public relations, advertising and online campaigns. The book examines the Internet’s transformative role and effect on Malaysian democracy, as well as its consequences for political actors and the citizenry, such as the development of cyber-warfare, and the rise of propaganda or “fake” news in the online domain. It also investigates the interplay between traditional and new media with regard to the evolution of politics in Malaysia, especially as a watchdog on accountability and transparency, and contributes to the current discourse on the climate of Malaysian politics following the rise of new media in the country. This book is particularly timely in the wake of the 2018 Malaysian general election, and will be of interest to students and researchers in communications, politics, new media and cultural studies. From the Back Cover This book provides a comprehensive overview of the impact of the emergence of the Internet on Malaysian politics and how it has played a pivotal role in influencing the country’s political climate. It lays out the background of Malaysia’s political history and media environment, and addresses the ramifications of media-ization on the political process, including political public relations, advertising and online campaigns. The book examines the Internet’s transformative role and effect on Malaysian democracy, as well as its consequences on political actors and citizenry, such as the development of cyber-warfare, and the materialisation of propaganda or “fake” news in the online domain. The book also investigates the interplay between traditional and new media on the progress of politics in Malaysia, especially as a watchdog on accountability and transparency, and contributes to current discourse on the climate of Malaysian politics as a result of the evolution of new media in the country. This book is particularly timely in the wake of the 2018 Malaysian elections, and will be of interest to students and researchers in communications, politics, new media and cultural studies. About the Author Dr Pauline Leong is currently a senior lecturer in the Department of Communication & Liberal Arts, School of Arts at Sunway University Malaysia. She completed her PhD with Monash University Malaysia, specialising in the area of political communication. Dr Leong also holds a Master of Mass Communication from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore where she was awarded the Pearson Education Gold Medal for best graduating student. She graduated from the National University of Singapore with an LLB (Hons) and was a former journalist with The Straits Times in Singapore. Dr Leong currently teaches Law and Ethics in Communication and Political Communication. Her research interests include freedom of speech and political campaigns. Dr Leong’s current research projects focus on online hate speech and satire in Malaysia.