What Malaysians talked about over the Merdeka weekend

It was quite a politically charged long weekend with the Bersih 4.0 rally coinciding with the lead-up to Malaysia’s National Day on 31 August.Focusing on the top conversations from 28 August to 31 August, “Bersih” had 127, 556 mentions with 75% from Malaysia; 12% from Indonesia; 4% from the United States; 2% from the UK and 1% from Australia.On the other hand, the word “Merdeka” garnered 70,977 mentions on social media with the bulk of them coming from Malaysia at 84%, Indonesia at 5%, United States at 3% and United Kingdom at 3%, according to media monitoring platform Meltwater.(Read also: Malaysian government stops advertisers from using “Merdeka” in campaigns)Among brands, Meltwater ranked Google, Petronas and Maybank as the top three brands that were most talked about online during the long weekend.In addition, the top three digital initiatives most talked about were by PETRONAS’ #akrab (watch the video below), Maybank’s #MyMaybank and Lazada’s #UnitySale respectively. In #akrab, which means “closeness”, the ad highlighted the importance of friendship and the close ties that transcend language and culture.[embed]https://youtu.be/NnPexM_Ul4U [/embed] Meanwhile, here were the other digital campaigns launched for National Day.MaxisThis ad by telecommunications giant Maxis encouraged the individual to look beyond the self and care for fellow Malaysians.It featured the inspiring true story of 80-year-old Uncle San, Ranau earthquake mountain guides and hundreds of other Malaysians who looked past their differences to help others in times of trouble. Be inspired by these acts of kindness: [embed]https://youtu.be/76_mW7dIk7M[/embed]Tenaga NasionalAnother company that jumped on unifying the nation was petroleum firm Tenaga Nasional. Aligning with the government-initiated campaign #sehatisejiwa (one heart, one spirit), the oil firm launched a similar digital initiative.The campaign rallied the public to make a collective effort in elevating the lives of citizens. According to Meltwater, this government-led hashtag garnered 51, 595 mentions on social media.Di Tenaga Nasional, kami sentiasa berusaha meningkatkan kehidupan rakyat. Dalam memastikan setiap insan menikmati...Posted by TNB Careline on Thursday, August 27, 2015Eco World Development GroupMalaysian property developer Eco World Development Group and The Star partnered to launch the #AnakAnakMalaysia campaign where we saw #AnakAnakMalaysia wristbands distributed across Malaysia along with copies of The Star.The campaign ran across radio and online until 16 September. The Star readers could snap a photo with the wristband and share what it meant to be Malaysian with the hashtag #AnakAnakMalaysia. These photos were then collated and shared in a specially created website.