Public Engagement with the #CampurLGBT Campaign as Portrayed by Malaysian Netizens’ Response

Asian Journal of Media and Communication E-ISSN: 2579-6119, P-ISSN: 2579-6100 Volume 3, Number 2, October 2019 Public Engagement with the #CampurLGBT Campaign as Portrayed by Malaysian Netizens’ Response Noor Amirah Asraf Puteri Sarah Hanim Mohamad Shaiful Zulkifli Abd Latif Shazleen Mohamed Faculty of Communication and Media Studies Universiti Teknologi MARA Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia Abstract The purpose of this study is to examine public engagement with the hashtag #CampurLGBT campaign as portrayed by Malaysian netizens’ response on social media. This study applies AIDA model, consisting of four levels, namely attention, interest, desire, and action. Netizens’ response to the campaign, such as their comments, discussions, and even pictures posted under the hashtag #CampurLGBT are analyzed, in order to understand public engagement with the issue, also to determine how the campaign may influence their views on the LGBT lifestyle. This study finds that despite the campaign being successful in recruiting followers and supporters of the movement, the number of those supporting it is relatively small compared with those who are against it. Those who respond positively to the campaign are mostly members of the LGBT community itself, also urban Malaysian netizens who have been exposed to the LGBT culture through friends and family members. While the netizens who have shown their negative responses are mostly concerned with the practice of being prohibited in Islam, also with the negative health implications of the LGBT lifestyle. They feel attacked by the ‘negative messages’ of the campaign, and therefore need to do the counter campaign. They explicitly declare their negative desire towards the campaign, also take action to reject the campaign. Keywords: public engagement; AIDA model; #CampurLGBT; #TolakLGBT. 1. Introduction The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) culture has slowly becoming a norm, especially since it is widely promoted by and accepted in the Western world. The LGBT lifestyle, which was considered immoral and unacceptable due to religious and cultural beliefs, has spread to many parts of the world, including Malaysia. However, the spread of the LGBT culture in Malaysia has raised public concerns as the issue of LGBT is still perceived as a taboo in this Muslim-majority country (Joles, 2018). Muhammed & Amuda (2018) highlighted that this is because Malaysia, just like any other Muslim countries, deems the LGBT lifestyle unacceptable by Islamic teachings. Those who practice such a lifestyle can be punished under both Malaysian penal and sharia law. 69 Volume 3, Number 2, October 2019 Despite numerous attempts by activists who advocate for equality and fight for the rights of the LGBT community, there are still cases of violence and discrimination towards the LGBT people (UNICEF, 2015). The United Nations (UN) has reported that LGBT persons, in general, face the risks of being assaulted, including rape, murder, abuse, abduction, sexual violence, as well as unfair treatment and torment in institutional and other settings. The similar issues are also faced by the LGBT community in Malaysia, which then led to the emergence of the hashtag campaign on social media known as #CampurLGBT. It was started on Twitter and later spread to other social media platforms. The #CampurLGBT campaign, which literally means ‘mingle LGBT’, was started by Malaysian LGBT community, aims to promote inclusion and acceptance of the LGBT culture among Malaysians. It has tried to highlight the issues plaguing LGBT persons in Malaysia, to end the stigma against them, as well as to normalize the LGBT lifestyle so that it is accepted as a norm (Thiagarajan, 2018). Recently, in February 2018, a local Malay daily, Sinaran Harian, published an infographic inset that outlined several points that public can use as a guide to identify members of LGBT community. It has sparked outrage and drawn criticisms, especially from the LGBT community and its supporters. They deemed the crosscheck reference points as ‘offensive’ due to allegedly generalizing and stereotyping LGBT people based on their traits and choice of clothing (Coconuts, 2018). It has then resulted in members of the LGBT community, together with those who support them, sharing their personal experiences and views on the LGBT issues on social media under the hashtag #CampurLGBT. The online campaign essentially highlighted how people can support LGBT people even without having to agree with their lifestyle and sexual orientation. This study aims to: 1). Discover the features of the #CampurLGBT campaign that attract the attention of Malaysian netizens; 2). Examine Malaysian netizens’ interest in relation to the #CampurLGBT campaign; 3). Discover Malaysian netizens’ desire towards LGBT initiatives after being exposed to the #CampurLGBT campaign; 4). Examine . 70 netizen’s action campaign. to the #CampurLGBT 2. Theoretical framework The conceptual framework of this study was modeled around three variables, which are: (i) public engagement with the #CampurLGBT campaign; (ii) the #CampurLGBT campaign; (iii) Malaysian netizens’ responses towards the campaign. The three variables were discussed considering the main demographics of this study, namely Malaysian netizens who are exposed to the #CampurLGBT campaign. Public engagement in this study is defined as a two-way process with the goal of generating mutual benefit to the public interests. Public engagement is deemed an effective way to boost the people’s interest in certain topics or cases. Nowadays, social media are becoming important tools for gaining public engagement to certain public issues (Bruns & Burgess 2011). In order to understand the public engagement with the issue of #CampurLGBT campaign, this study applies the AIDA model, which is originally developed for marketing communications and advertising. This model is used to evaluate the impact of advertising by “controlling every step of the psychological transformation that starts from the individual level to see an advertisement up to the purchase made by the individuals involved” (Hassana, Nadzim & Shiratuddin, 2014). Thus, based on this model, this study has differentiated four levels of public engagement, namely attention, interest, desire, and action (Reddy, 2015). First, attracting people’s attention. At this stage, attracting people’s attention is important to create awareness about something that is being promoted to the public. Second, engaging people’s interest. This stage is to get people interested in the thing that is being promoted, be it a product, service or even a message. Third, instilling desire for the product or service. At this stage, the advertiser must know how to make the targeted audience enthusiastic about the thing that is being advertised. Fourth, inspiring action. It happens when targeted audience decide to act based on the desire created earlier.. Noor Amirah Asraf, Puteri (...truncated)