Malay youths are inclined to support Perikatan Nasional (PN). If we consider TikTok as the prime way for young people to get political information, the For You Page (FYP) is dominated by caretaker Kedah menteri besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor and PN.
In TikTok, the For You Page is a stream of popular content curated by the platform’s algorithm based on your user behaviour.
I have many times chatted with Kedahan youths about their political views. Grab drivers, low-wage or middle-income earners, the young people hanging out at eateries. It surprises me when they say, “Sanusi is okay”.
At the same time, Umno is still struggling to unite its members to support Pakatan Harapan and BN. The split between Umno members at the grassroots level is an internal issue related to the party’s leadership. This is a real factor for pushing BN supporters to vote for PN.
Umno’s grassroots machinery feels uneasy explaining to Malay voters why they have to vote for the Harapan-BN pact. This is because PN’s campaign consistently demonises Harapan-BN as being controlled by “the DAP Chinese”.
In meetings with Umno party workers I have observed, they become speechless when Malay voters ask, ‘Why should I vote for Harapan-BN who are in cahoots with DAP?’
The Anwar Ibrahim Wave is strong, but it is too large and too high-brow. This is not necessarily bad, but when compared to Sanusi, the latter seems more casual and down to earth.
We may view Sanusi as bereft of big ideas, but voters on the ground feel he is one of them. Anwar’s messaging has yet to truly touch the ground.
Anwar’s message continues to be spread in campaign events, big rallies, television, or Facebook. This is unlike Sanusi and PN, who have broken into TikTok and used this as the fastest medium for campaign penetration.
PN’s videos often appear on FYP pages, and become opium for young voters, who don't even realise their addiction. PAS and PN are clear winners in this aspect.
Issues like rare earth elements (REE), corruption, and going against a sultan are not yet enough to capture the imagination of Kedah voters, for them to envision why they must reject Sanusi and PN in Kedah.
Kedah folks do not resonate with those issues, and they do not make them see why they should vote for Harapan-BN, instead.
This may be an issue of grassroots communication strategy, which is still not coordinated enough to hit the right audience in a way that it enters everyday conversations.
Sanusi may be problematic in many ways, but not grave enough compared to the problems faced by Najib Abdul Razak, for example, if we want to make a comparison.
Despite his issues, for young Kedahans and rural dwellers, he is “one of us”. Sanusi speaks like an ordinary person, even though sometimes it may sound somewhat unrefined.
In contrast, Harapan-BN has no ‘state hero’ like Sanusi, who is now seen as PN’s general in Kedah. Even Harapan’s sneak attacks against him had to be conducted by someone from out of state - Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail - who is not contesting in the Kedah state election.
In fact, Saifuddin’s position of controlling the country’s enforcement apparatus wins Sanusi more sympathy from Kedahans. It is as if a big power from the central command is pushing down on Sanusi, who represents Kedahans.
To me, this is what voter support in Kedah looks like, so far:
PN retains the support it had in the 15th general election.
PN gains more support from Malay youth voters.
PN wins over Umno grassroots, who are split due to internal leadership issues.
PN also wins over traditional BN supporters who cannot bring themselves to vote for Harapan-BN, because they are strongly against DAP.
Harapan faces the risk of low turnout from the non-Malays.
BN hopes Harapan’s loyal supporters will vote for BN. But many areas which they contest do not have significant Harapan supporters to make up the shortfall if BN voters swing away.
AMIR HAMZAH DAMANHURI is a unity government supporter.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.
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