Internet Meme as Mainstream Culture in Malaysia

By Liew En Tong

KUALA LUMPUR: Pronounced as “meem”, the internet meme can be observed to have become a common part of people’s social media these days in Malaysia.

The meme is understood as a unit of cultural information that spreads from person to person in a way that is similar to the transmission of genes. One can recognize a meme because they often consist of a picture derived from pop cultures such as viral videos, movie scenes, or cartoons followed by captions that are relatable to certain issues or scenarios.

Lim Foo Yen, 21, a Media and Creative Studies student in Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) mentioned that memes are commonly seen through social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

“I am not a fan of memes, but I do think that memes are entertaining as their way of delivering a message is more casual and closer to life,” said Lim.

Lim also added that memes could be a good way for marketing if created according to the right target audience.

Figure 1: Lim mentioned that meme's content can be read at a glance.

Chong Jie Hwai, 23, the chairperson of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Club of Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) revealed that the club started a meme contest after getting inspired by a digital marketer on social media.

He stated that the meme contest help to create more interaction with their target audience, which is the younger generation as it can change the impression that people had towards SDG Club, which is often serious and formal.

“The number of entries for the meme contest is also higher compared to our previous event,” Chong added.

Figure 2: Chong mentioned that everyone can create a meme as no cost is required.

Ma Siaw We, 21, an Early Childhood Education student of Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) said that she started noticing the rise of memes spreading in Malaysia not too long ago.

“From what I’ve observed, the spread of memes in Malaysia seems to increase more during the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Ma.

“I feel the need to control the content of memes as some of the audiences like children might be misled by it,” Ma added.

When asked about the future of meme culture, Ma thinks that it will not continue for a long time as humans might replace it with another form of entertainment.

Figure 3: Ma stated that memes should only be used as a source for entertainment as the content might not be all true.

Jason Ho Xiang Qin, 22, the first runner up for UTAR SDG Meme Contest, agreed that some of the memes that emphasize sensitive and insulting content might not be suitable for all audiences.

“I enjoy ‘Hell Joke Memes’, but I will never share it as there are elderly and children in my friend list on social media,” Jason clarified.

From another point of view, Jason thinks that meme creation could be used as a method to test the creativity of employees and students of the media industry in the future.

Figure 4: Jason mentioned that sensitive content memes need not be controlled as it is only a subculture in Malaysia.

Wong Chee Ting, 21, a Digital Animation student from Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), thinks that memes have more strengths compared to weaknesses.

“The content of memes should not be restricted as designers need freedom of creation just as how journalists need freedom of speech,” said Wong.

“In the future, memes might be able to replace news articles as we can start seeing memes that intend to tell audiences a story or event that has happened,” Wong added.

Figure 5: Wong believes that memes will be more than just a form of entertainment to society if used properly.

Overall, meme culture has become a very big part of social media as a whole in Malaysia. While some of the audiences would not necessarily enjoy the content of memes, the mainstream culture continues to entertain people from various backgrounds worldwide.