PETALING JAYA: In view of the lacklustre turnouts at ceramah, the major coalitions are expected to ramp it up as the campaign period for the state elections enters its final week, say analysts.
Though there was an air of political fatigue since campaigning began last Saturday, there would be more ceramah across all six states in the final week, said Universiti Sains Malaysia senior lecturer Dr Azmil Mohd Tayeb.
“It’s a good way to gain visibility and get the message out, either in person or virtually via streaming.
“There will also be walkabouts by candidates to personally meet voters.
“We can see that in the typical day of a candidate, mornings and afternoons are reserved for walkabouts in markets and food courts or visiting small community centres.
“Later in the evening, it’s ceramah, big and small,” he added.
Azmil said there seemed to be a lack of social media campaigning now compared with the 15th General Election in November last year.
“Perhaps it’s due to election fatigue, or perhaps the parties are not spending as much on social media advertising and influencers this time around,” he said.
Singapore Institute of International Affairs senior fellow Dr Oh Ei Sun also expects more ceramah and walkabouts to be held in the final week of campaigning.
“House-to-house (visit) is simply too much to handle,” Oh said, adding that a lack of online campaigns by the coalitions was probably due to cost.
“Because state elections concern the particular state, perhaps it is less worthwhile to undertake costly online campaigns,” he said.
Nusantara Academy for Strategic Research senior fellow Azmi Hassan said the drop in social media campaigning was probably due to restrictions placed on issues pertaining to race and religion.
“On social media, issues on race and religion can attract the attention of many voters,” he said.
Azmi also said there appeared to be a lack of enthusiasm for the polls.
“Voters already made up their minds in the last general election and most probably, they won’t change their minds much for the state polls,” he said.
