DAP pitches for ‘cleaner Malaysia’ on YouTube

By Debra Chong

January 14, 2012

 

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 14 — A frazzled-looking woman sharing her laundry woes is the DAP’s newest tactic to net bigger voter support ahead of the 13th general election expected this year.

In the one-minute long video-clip on YouTube, a woman tells viewers she has been following her mother in using detergent brand “BN” but the clothes only seem to get dirtier with each wash.

The word “rasuah (corruption)” bubbles up from a shirt stained with the words “PKFZ, lembu, kondo dan lain-lain”, an apparent reference to the financial scandals linked to politicians from the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) federal government.

She then lifts up an orange bottle of detergent she calls brand “Pakatan”, emblazoned with the logos for PKR, the DAP and PAS, and notes that it contains the “CAT” element — “cekap, akauntabel dan telus” — as she pours a good amount into a fresh load in the washing machine.

Smiling in immense satisfaction at the pristine white shirt, the woman delivers the punch line, “Ubah sekarang, bersihkan Malaysia [Change now, clean Malaysia]”.

The Malay-language clip has drawn nearly 250,000 views on YouTube since it was uploaded earlier this week, with 2,818 likes and 231 dislikes at the time of reporting.

This laundry video clip is the brainchild of Ooi Leng Hang, for the party’s national convention last week. Go to the link below to watch this interesting video below:-


 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGrcrVDY6y0


“The theme of the convention was ‘Ubah sekarang, bersihkan Malaysia’, but I suppose it can also be used for the general election,” said Ooi, a member of the DAP’s skeletal publicity team led by Hew Kuan Yau.

Ooi, who is one of the team’s six members, was also responsible for coming up with the DAP’s wildly popular hornbill mascot, Ubah, in a spoof battle against Tan Sri Abdul Mahmud Taib, the chief minister of Sarawak, in the east Malaysian state poll last year.

The video, titled “Ubah vs Taib”, went viral and prompted massive sales of the hornbill soft toy.
The 37-year-old full-time party worker told The Malaysian Insider the laundry video cost less than RM200 to produce, and that included hiring the actor who, he said, is not a member of any of the opposition Pakatan Rakyat’s (PR) three parties — the DAP, PKR or PAS.

DAP publicity chief Tony Pua promised more music and videos to come as the party ramps up its strategy for the general election, which many believe will be called this year, ahead of its March 2013 deadline. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has indicated calling elections after his reforms kick in.

“Feedback has been very positive and has given us greater impetus to do more and be more creative to capture the imagination of the people,” the Petaling Jaya Utara MP told The Malaysian Insider.

DAP Youth chief Anthony Loke said it was one of the most effective ways for the federal opposition party to push its message across.

“It’s definitely more effective than giving out pamphlets. It will spread and cuts across boundaries to reach audiences. Once they catch them, they will share it with their friends on Facebook,” he said.