KOTA BHARU - The 16th General Election (GE16) will see a new-era battle involving the use of artificial intelligence (AI) as a key weapon against political rivals in the online arena.
Pas central information chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari said to meet this challenge, the party had produced 43 graduates through the Pas Influencer Academy to serve as frontliners in the battle of perception.
He said all the participants completed the course, out of a total of 81, after passing several stages of assessment and training, both physical and online.
"Those who successfully completed this course received their certificates at the recent Pas Muslimat muktamar and Pas Youth muktamar.
"They will become frontliners fighting in the shadow arena, producing videos and responding to issues and will be among our forces facing the upcoming general election," he said.
He was speaking while delivering the closing address at Pas' 72nd annual muktamar at Pusat Tarbiah Islamiah Kelantan (Putik), Pengkalan Chepa.
Fadhli said following the success of the first phase, the Pas central information bureau (Lajnah Penerangan) would launch Influencer Academy 2.0, opening participation to divisions nationwide.
He urged division-level leaderships to be more proactive in sending capable representatives who could give full commitment.
"This is a battle of the new millennium, a battle on new ground. GE16 will see an AI-style battle that will be our key weapon in fighting the enemy," he said.
He also touched on the recent Cyber Mujahid Gathering in Temerloh, Pahang, which drew 212 participants, including 92 from Pahang.
However, he expressed disappointment that a number of states had sent few participants, citing financial constraints.
"We hope states and divisions will give their commitment ahead of the coming general election, as this gathering will be held again specifically to give the latest briefing on how to fight in the cyber arena," he said.