KUALA LUMPUR, 6 Feb – The DAP has launched ‘Spark the Change’, a do it yourself (DIY) campaign aimed to encourage Malaysians to take the message of change with them back to their hometowns, as the nation prepares for a Chinese New Year celebration coinciding with the anxious wait for the 13th General Election.
Car stickers, leaflets and videos form the campaign’s tools, utilizing the social media and the grassroots movement to ‘trigger the political tsunami 2.0’, according to Spark the Change’s official website, www.ubah.my.
The campaign is launched at Stadium Merdeka’s car park on 6 February, with a showcase of cars adorned with various, colourful sticker designs of the DAP election mascot, ‘Ubah’ ready to get the message going on the road. The car stickers are also complete with the famous message, “Ubah Sekarang, Bersihkan Malaysia” (Change Now, Clean Malaysia Up) in Malaysia’s main languages.
Aware that more city folks are exposed to the power abuse of BN and the achievements made by Pakatan Rakyat-ran states, the campaign optimises the strength of the rite of balik kampung during the festive season by getting the message spread in a larger radius to Malaysians living outside of urban areas.
This forms the main drive behind Spark the Change: to get the people throughout Malaysia engage with each other to be ‘fully informed’ of the on-goings in their beloved country, as well as ‘the consequences of continuous BN hegemony’.
The campaign is also a crucial step to fight against the Barisan Nasional’s rampant abuse of campaign machineries during elections, a matter that has drawn criticism in the public sphere by Pakatan Rakyat and various NGOs, notably the Coalition for Free and Fair Elections, ever-popularly known Bersih.
Known to having the mainstream media manipulated and the government resources misused at their disposal, Barisan Nasional’s corrupt ways can only be exposed by the spread of alertness amongst the people themselves.
“Pakatan Rakyat fights the uphill battle against BN’s control over the 3Ms — Money, Media and Machinery. BN will spend the tax payers’ money to by the rakyat’s votes, especially in the rural and poorer constituencies,” said a statement in the website.
“Pakatan Rakyat doesn’t have the 3M’s might of BN to penetrate the less urban constituencies. But we have you.”
The website contains various resources and publicity materials, such as leaflets and videos, that are ready to be downloaded, printed and distributed to be shared with families, relatives and friends back home. Supporters are also able to extend their support towards the cause by giving donations via the website.
A heated up New Year
Hundreds of thousands of Malaysians are expected to take a long break for the celebrations — whether to participate in the celebrations, or just to go on a vacation — as the first and second days of Chinese New Year fall on a Sunday and Monday, marking a long weekend.
It is a crucial Chinese New Year celebration for Malaysia according to observers, as the most anticipated general election in the country’s history is looming on the horizon, with speculations on its actual date still lingering around.
Political parties go the extra mile to spread their party’s messages to the people during the celebrations, taking into advantage the many gatherings and open houses commonplace in Malaysian holidays.
Barisan Nasional, for one, has invited the South Korean entertainer Psy for their Chinese New Year open house, to be held at Penang’s Han Chiang High School ground on 11 February. The stint, spearheaded by Prime Minister Najib Razak, immediately attracted criticisms overnight as to whose money was used to pay for the ‘Oppa Gangnam Style’ artiste performance fees, which amounted to a whooping RM2.5 million.
Penang Chief Minister, Lim Guang Eng nonetheless has welcomed Psy to perform in the state, asking Penangites to attend the event and ‘have fun’.
Lim, also DAP Secretary-General, also encouraged Penangites to turn up at the open house wearing T-shirts of yellow, green and red, colours synonymous to causes related to Pakatan Rakyat. – The Rocket
How to Spark?
1. Share the true stories
Download the leaflets and videos at the website and tell the true stories to your friends and relatives back home.
2. Donate to our General Election fund
Go to www.ubah.my or https://dapmalaysia.org/donate/ to donate.
3. Be the coolest DAP supporters with Ubah car stickers
You can use some of the ready car stickers design for your car or customise your own with the different images. All are available to download at the website.
Log on to www.ubah.my today.
