KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Some candidates for posts in Malaysia's ruling party will be required to set up blogs, an official said Friday, a turnaround for governing politicians who had derided online politicking.
Abdul Rahman Dahlan, secretary general of the United Malays National Organization party's youth wing, said all those vying for national youth posts must have blogs to introduce themselves and their programs ahead of party elections in December.
It was not known if any senior leaders of the party will also start blogs to emulate opposition Democratic Action Party leader Lim Kit Siang, who has a popular Web journal.
But the decision appeared aimed at countering heavy losses that the ruling National Front coalition suffered in last month's general elections, partly because they underestimated the power of online campaigning. The United Malays National Party dominates the coalition.
