THE USE OF PERSONAL WEBSITES IN BUILDING ONLINE IMAGE BY MALAYSIAN PARLIAMENTARIANS

Abstract

Political careers of politicians depend on keeping a clean image and reputation to stay in positive public opinion for all purposes. This article is focused on how do Malaysian parliamentarians present themselves to the public. It is based on an analysis of content on 47 personal websites found of 13^th elected Malaysian Members of Parliament. The analysis was done in terms of the different languages used considering the country is multiethnic, the photos shared and the issues discussed as their  stand on particular issues on the websites. Some interesting finding like none of the MPs used Tamil on their website, scandalous photos have forced MPs into apologizing and even resignation were found in keeping their image. Others used their websites to attack opposition, expose corruption as well as putting out their stand on controversies to protect their reputation. This study is valuable in understanding reputation building online by politicians as more people access information from internet in a increasingly complex world.