This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on April 2, 2018 - April 8, 2018

THE question that has been hotly debated is whether or not BN is using Cambridge Analytica. Managing director Mark Turnbull revealed in a secretly filmed Channel 4 video that the organisation has worked in Malaysia before.

Rafizi revealed that Cambridge Analytica CEO Alexander Nix definitely came a-courting about two years ago. He said he received an invitation to a sales pitch, but didn’t go for it because “we were already working with Andrew Claster then”. Claster is a pollster who was former US president Barack Obama’s deputy chief analytics advisor for his 2012 re-election campaign. Cambridge Analytica worked for Donald Trump’s campaign. Obama is a Democrat and Trump is a Republican. “So they worked with the Republicans and Andrew with Obama, so I didn’t go,” Rafizi said.

Cambridge Analytica’s parent SCL Group has set up an office in Kuala Lumpur, with known Umno member Azrin Zizal as its Southeast Asia head. Azrin was the press officer of former Kedah Umno chief Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir between 2008 and 2013, before Mukhriz became Kedah’s chief minister. Mukhriz, who was sacked from Umno in 2016 after he was openly critical of the troubles involving 1Malaysia Development Bhd, has denied any involvement with Cambridge Analytica. He is now deputy president of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, a partner in the opposition Pakatan Harapan coalition.

A statement from the Prime Minister’s Office denied that BN, the PMO or any part of the Malaysian government ever hired Cambridge Analytica. But it fingered Mukhriz as the one having personally used Cambridge Analytica’s services while he was in Umno, a claim that was later seconded by Azrin. Incidentally, Azrin told a local daily last year that his company has never done any election work in Malaysia.

While the ball is being kicked around between Mukhriz and his former party, the source close to BN leaders argues that if Cambridge Analytica has been deployed here, why does BN still keep shooting itself in the foot? As example, he cited the viral video of Negri Sembilan Menteri Besar Mohamed Hassan telling BN Youth members in Rembau to take physical action against business outlets that “defame” the government.

But if there are different teams and war-rooms working in silos, could one of them be using Cambridge Analytica without the others knowing?

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