00:00Two analysts have blamed the rise of social media for fueling society's preference for personality-driven politics over leadership competence.
00:10James Chin of the University of Tasmania and University of Science Malaysia's Ahmad Fauzi Abdulhamid said social media has become an echo chamber with algorithms reinforcing existing views by serving up content that aligns with user preferences.
00:24Fauzi argued that as social media has given everyone a platform to air their views, it has made everyone an instant amateur expert in everything, fueling mistrust of authorities, institutions, and genuine experts.
00:39He warned that these factors could lead to frequent policy shifts and short-lived governments as political leaders scramble to make compromises that ultimately prove unworkable.
00:48Chin noted that content is increasingly designed to capture attention rather than deliver substance, pushing people to focus on personalities rather than policies, which are harder to convey in short posts or videos.
01:02Last week, PKR's Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli lamented Malaysians' tendency to judge politicians based on personality and sentiment rather than their actual competence to lead and govern.
01:14Fauzi added that governments now fear social media to the point of sidelining scholars, prioritizing sentiment over knowledge in decision-making.
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