In Hackathon Politik, realities and dreams collide as youths try hands at starting new parties
Note: This is an essay accessible only to paid subscribers of #BeritaBaruNakUp, but is temporarily available for free members during the trial period.
This Saturday (June 12), over 2,000 voters across 33 seats in Malaysia will vote for their preferred political party, out of the five that are contesting the election.
The election will be done by online ballot, run by an independent polling agency.
To make up their minds, voters have been listening to the parties throughout two weeks of campaigning, which included three political debates that were broadcasted to the public.
Each parties were also given graphic designers to help them craft their manifesto, resulting in an Instagram election campaign with a mix of design sensibilities.
Now, if you are of voting age, and have voted in the last few general elections, you may have already noticed how the election this Saturday seems vaguely familiar, but somehow so different at the same time?
Meet Hackathon Politik, a workshop for youths to build mock political parties, construct alliances, formulate policies, and vie for votes – inspired by our ruthless political landscape, and yet is refreshingly without the typical baggage.
BBNU takes a peek behind the scenes of this hackathon from the eyes of those involved in it, and listened to the motivations of the mock parties taking part in this election.
So who would you vote for?
We will discuss this more after the jump, for subscribers only. 👇