Experts: Content vital to influence voters in upcoming state polls

PETALING JAYA: Experts predict that approximately one-third of the 9.77 million voters in the upcoming state elections will make their decisions at the last minute, based on what they see on social media. Despite the on-the-ground rallies and campaign launches by political parties in the six states, political analysts and communications experts emphasize the critical role that social media will play, much like in the 15th General Election (GE15).

Associate Prof Dr Mohd Yusri Ibrahim, head of research at polling firm Ilham Centre, noted that the voting trends observed in GE15 are expected to repeat, particularly among voters below 29 years old, including first-time voters who have no party loyalty. He stated that this cohort of voters tends to wait until the last moments before turning to social media to make their decision. “So, whichever party or candidate can dominate social media will be able to persuade and influence the minds of these young voters,” said Mohd Yusri, who teaches policy studies at Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT).

The state elections for Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Penang, Kelantan, Terengganu, and Kedah will take place on August 12, with the official campaigning period starting on July 29. The main contestants are Perikatan Nasional, Pakatan Harapan, and its ally Barisan Nasional.

After GE15, political scientist Prof Dr Bridget Welsh conducted a voting trends study which revealed that Perikatan managed to secure 37% of votes among those under 30 years old, the largest proportion among all political coalitions. This trend was also observed on social media in the final days leading up to the Nov 19 polling day, as explained by Pakatan leader Abbas Salimi Adzmi.

Abbas mentioned that Perikatan was successful in gaining significant support from young voters during GE15 due to its dominance of social media platforms. “When we monitored content on social media throughout GE15, we saw that content from Pakatan was more popular at the start of the campaigning period,” he told The Star. “But four days before polling, we suddenly saw a flood of content from Perikatan that became popular on platforms such as TikTok,” added Abbas, who is from Selangor Amanah.

Yusri highlighted that in GE15, Perikatan maximized the impact of its social media content by creating concise and focused short videos and infographics tailored to appeal to younger voters. He predicts that a similar situation will occur in the upcoming state elections. “Young voters will consider all parties. Whoever dominates social media with concise and focused content will sway them,” explained Yusri.

Amir Fareed Rahim, a public affairs specialist, believes that the launch of the new social media platform Threads could intensify political campaigning in cyberspace, particularly in urban areas. However, he emphasized that while social media is crucial, it cannot completely replace physical events and outreach, as they provide valuable content for effective social media posts. “Greeting candidates with enthusiastic crowds or displaying party flags in pictures contributes to the creation of compelling social media content,” said Amir Fareed, who serves as the director of strategy at KRA Group. He added, “Social media is an important platform for messaging, shaping narratives, and connecting with voters, but building emotional resonance is becoming more complex and requires more than just a strong social media presence.”