The Final Sprint: Overcoming Barriers and Paving the Way for MyDemokrasi’s Future
A blog by Gopi Ponnudurai, Implementing partner
Pilot: Pnyx, the digital public assembly; redefining representation
As Sprint 9 concludes, so does the research phase for MyDemokrasi, a platform envisioned to transform the way politicians engage with voters. This sprint was a culmination of months of work, engagement, and refinement, focused on validating the platform with political stakeholders and uncovering the challenges that stand in the way of large-scale adoption. It was a sprint that tested not only the feasibility of MyDemokrasi but also the realities of digital political engagement in Malaysia.
This phase primarily revolved around Experiment 2, which focused on politician onboarding, engagement, and validation of MyDemokrasi as a tool for transparency and voter interaction. Experiment 1 played a supporting role by ensuring the CMS for politician input data was functional and effective. Meanwhile, the team also progressed on Experiment 3 (identifying sustainable funding models) and Experiment 4 (soft launch and user acquisition).
While plans were in place for Experiment 5 to explore direct voter outreach through on-ground engagements, it was ultimately deemed premature in the absence of a fully launched platform. Conversations with politicians helped shift this strategy toward a more structured and targeted approach via MP-organized events, which will be explored further in future sprints.
Throughout Sprint 9, we engaged 16 politicians, of whom 10 actively participated in discussions, while 4 remained unresponsive, 1 declined due to health reasons, and 1 disengaged after initial interest. While most quickly recognised the potential of MyDemokrasi, others expressed hesitancy—primarily around the platform’s CMS complexity, data sensitivity (such as asset declarations), and concerns over public perception if their profiles remained unpopulated. These concerns were not only noted but also directly shaped the evolution of the platform.
As detailed in the “Key Learnings & Solution Refinements” section below, this feedback led us to restructure the CMS experience (shifting toward pre-populated profiles with validation workflows), make transparency features optional, and position officers, not MPs, as primary CMS users. The outcome is a more realistic, scalable model for political adoption, one that meets politicians where they are—digitally capable but resource-constrained—and positions MyDemokrasi as a value-add rather than an additional burden.
Bridging Digital Politics and Real-World Concerns
Refining the CMS for Political Engagement (Experiment 1)
Images 1 & 2: Sample of MyDemokrasi Connect (CMS) interface used by Politicians
One of the key learnings from this sprint was how the CMS and Admin system fit within the broader workflow of political engagement. While the system was found to be functional, easy to use, and requiring minimal training, it became clear that politicians themselves are rarely the ones entering information. Instead, their officers and administrative teams are the primary users. This insight challenges the original assumption that politicians would be the main drivers of content on the platform and suggests a shift in how the system is positioned and supported.
When combined with insights from Experiment 2, it becomes clear that while politicians conceptually support the vision of MyDemokrasi, their day-to-day interaction with the platform is minimal. Their endorsement often depends on how effectively their teams can manage and maintain their profiles. This reinforces the need to treat political offices as teams rather than individual users, with tailored onboarding and support designed specifically for the officers executing the digital work.
In turn, this learning reshapes the vision for MyDemokrasi—not just as a tool for politicians to speak directly to the public but as an enabling system that supports political teams in maintaining a consistent, transparent presence online. The broader platform vision must now consider the operational realities of political offices and how digital engagement responsibilities are delegated and managed.
Funding MyDemokrasi: Identifying Sustainable Models (Experiment 3)
In the rapidly evolving world of civic technology, finding the right funding model is as crucial as the technology itself. At MyDemokrasi, we're committed to not just building a platform, but preserving its core mission of empowering democratic engagement.
One of the key challenges in this sprint was identifying a sustainable funding model for MyDemokrasi. The team mapped out more than 30 potential investors and funding agencies that align with the platform’s mission of strengthening democratic engagement through transparent, tech-enabled political interaction. Initial outreach is focused on 2 of these prospects to gather early feedback and shape our funding strategy.
Our value proposition is built on providing a neutral, accessible platform where voters can learn about their representatives, engage directly, and hold them accountable. This neutrality is core to the platform’s legitimacy and impact, which is why we are deliberately not pursuing advertising-based revenue. Maintaining user trust requires keeping the platform free from commercial or political influence, particularly when it comes to content visibility.
Instead, we are prioritising values-aligned funders, such as democratic innovation funds, civic tech grant-makers, and regional philanthropies with an interest in good governance. We are also exploring blended models that could include tiered features for government or NGO partners, ensuring that core services remain free and accessible while enabling sustainability. This sprint reinforced the importance of being strategic and mission-aligned in our funding approach, and these initial investor conversations will help refine how we position MyDemokrasi going forward.
Soft Launch & User Acquisition: Early Success and Key Learnings (Experiment 4)
Sprint 9 marked the first time MyDemokrasi was introduced to the public, and the initial response was encouraging. In the first month alone, the platform drew 1,765 visitors—well above the original goal of 1,000. The outreach campaign also reached nearly 200,000 people and successfully attracted attention at a relatively low cost.
Despite this positive start, several learning points emerged. The platform went live later than expected, on March 10, leaving less time to run and adjust the outreach campaign during the sprint. As a result, the focus was primarily on getting people to visit the site rather than understanding how they engaged with the platform after arriving. This means that future campaigns will need to look more closely at whether visitors are staying on the site and finding it useful.
Another challenge was the time required to get approval for political ads on platforms like Meta. These delays meant the campaign couldn’t start as early as planned. In the future, more time will need to be allocated to account for these approval processes. On a more positive note, improvements were made to help the platform appear more prominently in search engine results, and although it’s still early, these efforts seem to be moving in the right direction.
Overall, the soft launch confirmed that there is public interest in MyDemokrasi. It also underscored the importance of better preparation, more time for analysis, and deeper efforts to understand how visitors use the platform after they arrive.
Insights from Data and Engagement with Politicians (Experiment 2)
Experiment 2 focused on testing the core assumption that politicians would endorse and promote MyDemokrasi and validate or update their profiles through the CMS platform. This was the most engagement-intensive phase of the sprint and offered the clearest view into the platform’s real-world political adoption potential.
We approached a total of 16 politicians, of which 10 actively engaged in detailed discussions and CMS testing. From those 10:
5 politicians signed the collaboration agreement,
4 expressed willingness to support and were pending formal signing, and
1 remained hesitant due to broader party and data-related concerns.
To guide this experiment, we employed a multi-method approach—combining quantitative surveys, qualitative verbatim discussions, behavioural data tracking, and formal commitment documentation. Politicians and their officers were given direct access to the CMS to evaluate usability, test input flows, and assess how well the platform could integrate into their office’s existing workflow.
Image 3: We met with several politicians and their officers to present and discuss the MyDemokrasi platform
Image 4: Officers validating and populating politician data using the CMS developed by the tech team
Quantitative Analysis Outcomes:
Based on direct scoring and interaction metrics, the following statistics were derived from politicians:
Willingness to onboard: 4.38/5
Willingness to engage with voters through the platform: 4.28/5
Ease of using the CMS: 3.43/5
Willingness to manage the CMS: 3.14/5
Willingness to promote MyDemokrasi: 4.71/5
The data strongly supports that politicians are conceptually enthusiastic about MyDemokrasi—particularly its potential for engagement, visibility, and transparency. However, the moderate scores for CMS usability and management indicate that while the platform is welcomed, the operational function involved in using it is a significant barrier.
In multiple engagements, politicians and officers explained that data entry becomes an additional task on top of their already extensive workload, which includes constituency responsibilities, ministerial duties, and internal party commitments. As a result, most expect the CMS to include AI-powered support—automatically pulling and organising existing content (e.g. media mentions, speeches, and key events) for them to validate, rather than entering everything manually. This expectation forms a key input for future product design, shifting the burden from full self-entry to smart content automation.
Behavioural Data Observations:
To assess actual usage beyond stated intentions, we tracked behavioural insights and found the following:
7 politicians provided their officers’ emails for CMS account creation.
5 politicians/officers logged into the CMS and updated their profiles.
5 officers populated the Key Achievement section.
4 politicians or teams requested technical support from the research or tech team.
This data reveals an important pattern: Politicians often rely on their officers to manage their digital presence, including CMS tasks. The requests for assistance—ranging from profile editing to content uploads—further reinforce that officers are the true administrators of political platforms, not necessarily the politicians themselves. This insight has led us to reposition the CMS as a back-office tool for political teams and not merely an MP-facing interface. From these insights, we learned that officers are central to the digital engagement workflow, and support systems (guides, training, AI helpers) should be designed for them first. Requests for technical support highlight pain points in onboarding and usability, emphasising the need for more streamlined CMS experiences and hands-on guidance.
Key Qualitative Learnings from Engagements:
Through structured discussions, five main concern themes emerged:
CMS complexity and data entry burden: Especially problematic for offices with limited staffing, where CMS tasks compete with core political duties.
Asset declaration and campaign finance visibility, where many felt public disclosure was politically risky: Public visibility of such data is viewed as politically risky; many prefer to reference cabinet-submitted declarations only.
Lack of voter verification mechanisms, making some skeptical about survey impact and data credibility: Politicians are open to surveys but worry about who is responding. Without verified users, the value of feedback is diminished.
Accessibility issues for rural and older voters, questioning platform inclusivity: Concerns that the platform may exclude those with low digital literacy, limiting reach and creating perceived bias from those engaging with the platform.
Internal party approval requirements, especially for those in structured coalitions, create delays: In structured coalitions, supporting a digital initiative requires approval from higher leadership, which often delays or stalls decisions.
These themes expose the real operational constraints within the Malaysian political environment. Addressing them is not optional—it’s essential for long-term sustainability. The insights support a shift toward optional transparency tools, role-based CMS workflows, and hybrid outreach strategies (digital + on-ground).
In parallel, politicians requested improvements such as:
AI-driven automation to pre-fill their data.
Multilingual platform versions (particularly Mandarin).
Optional financial transparency tools with secure handling.
Stronger officer onboarding and CMS support infrastructure.
These inputs directly inform our platform roadmap, enabling us to design features that are usable, scalable, and sensitive to political realities. Meeting these requests also positions MyDemokrasi as a value-adding tool rather than an administrative burden, which is essential for securing long-term adoption and funding partnerships.
What We Learned & What Happens Next:
The findings validated that politicians are ready to endorse and promote MyDemokrasi, but the platform must reduce operational friction and support their teams more directly. Officers, not politicians, are the primary CMS users, so future development will prioritise a simplified interface, AI-assisted content population, and officer-focused onboarding.
The next step is to refine platform features based on this feedback, expand our training toolkit for political teams, and work with willing MPs to help promote and integrate MyDemokrasi in constituency-level voter engagement. From the voter side, ensuring that concern submissions, surveys, and profiles come from verified users will be a core part of Phase 2 development.
Together, these actions ensure that MyDemokrasi will not only reflect the practical realities of Malaysian political operations but will also scale meaningfully and sustainably, delivering on its core mission of digital democracy, accountability, and inclusive governance.
Final Sprint, But Not the Final Step
While Sprint 9 concludes the research phase, MyDemokrasi is now transitioning into its next stage—building a verified voter base and ensuring long-term sustainability. Key priorities moving forward will include:
Strengthening politician officer onboarding to improve CMS adoption.
Refining funding strategies and engaging more investors.
Expanding marketing efforts beyond traffic generation to focus on user conversion.
Establishing strategic partnerships with MPs to integrate voter engagement efforts into existing political events.
Further development of the platform inline with politician feedback received.
Final Thoughts: The Last Sprint, Marking the First Step Toward a Digital Democracy
If you’d like to dig in further…
🚀 Explore this pilot’s profile page
📚 Read about the pilot’s previous sprint where the team conducted user testing of MyDemokrasi
Publish date: 4th April 2025
