THE ROLE OF NEW MEDIA IN SPREADING AWARENESS OF THE INCREASING OVERNIGHT POLICY RATE (OPR) AMONG MALAYSIANS COMMUNITY

Abstract

The term "New Media" refers to all forms of media that are disseminated online where any form of communication relies on the internet. The delivery or provision of information regarding the increasing Overnight Policy Rate that was set by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has been accomplished with the assistance of new media. The goal of this study is to see whether the new media played a significant role in spreading awareness of the increasing OPR among the Malaysian community. This research will focus on the function of new media, especially social media, in spreading awareness and disseminating information regarding the ongoing issue that has affected Malaysia over the past few months. The theory that has been used as a guideline in this research is User-Gratification Theory. An online questionnaire with 10 items for demographic section and 40 items was designed in order to evaluate the role of media in spreading awareness of the increasing OPR among the Malaysian community.T This study used a quantitative survey method which involves 371 respondents using Google Form platforms. he population of the community that was involved with this research are 9,000 and the sample of the population is about 371 based from the Krejcie and Morgan’s table. We gained 371 respondents where the majority of them are working, taking loans and aware of the increasing OPR. This research helps finance groups like Bank Negara (the government), other bank merchants, and financial advisors to fully utilize the new media in spreading the awareness of increasing OPR to the Malaysian Community.