KUALA LUMPUR: Barisan Nasional (BN) is expected to continue to dominate Johor in the 14th General Election (GE14), based on studies carried out by social media researchers Politweet.
In an interview with Worldfuture TV (WFTV), a Politweet spokesman said social media users in Johor appear to favour Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak compared to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
The company said Dr Mahathir, who is Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) chairman, does not appear to have had much of an impact in Johor ahead of GE14.
“Generally speaking, two thirds of social media users in Johor do not show any interest in Dr Mahathir, despite the widespread media coverage on him and his nomination as Pakatan Harapan’s choice for prime minister.
“This does not augur well for Pakatan Harapan,” the spokesman was quoted as saying.
As of December last year, only 13.73 per cent of Facebook users in Johor show any interest in Dr Mahathir compared to 66.67 per cent who lean towards Najib.
However, the firm also noted that Johor is unlikely to be among the states which change hands in GE14.
The Politweet spokesman was also quoted as saying that Pas will not be able to pose a serious challenge to Umno in the general election.
“Facebook statistics show that Pas has the lowest reach compared to PKR and DAP.
“However, it could also be argued that Pas supporters are not as active in updating their status (related to party matters) on Facebook or Twitter,” he said.