The Malaysian Insider is trying to manipulate again, based on skewed information many amongst the minority consider as ‘facts’. This time, about the impact of Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Mohd. Najib Tun Razak’s tweets before and during the 13GE.
MALAYSIA
Najib’s GE13 tweets lacked impact, bounced between cybertroopers, research shows
BY V. ANBALAGAN, ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
JULY 24, 2013
LATEST UPDATE: JULY 24, 2013 08:42 PM
Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s (pic) election tweets and retweets between nomination day and polling day to woo voters failed to produce the desired effect in the May 5 general elections, according to a local researcher.
Dr Surinderpal Kaur, who ran a study on the impact of the Twitter microblogging service before and after the election, said the prime minister’s tweets had a high volume but lacked impact as it bounced only between his followers and likely cybertroopers or paid social media practitioners.
The study was based on about 900,000 tweets on the election. Tweeting became popular for GE13, a change from the 2008 general elections when the social network scene was dominated by bloggers.
“His tweets were mainly circulated among those who followed him. His followers in turn were only tweeting and retweeting to those within their network,” she told a seminar on post 13th general election in Kuala Lumpur today.
The seminar was organised by Universiti Malaya’s Centre for Democracy and Election (UMCEDEL), which had conducted several survey before, during and after Election 2013.
Najib’s ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) won the general elections with 133 federal seats, down seven from the 140 gained in Election 2008 when Tun Abdullah Badawi was the prime minister.
Surinderpal said to have an impact, Najib’s followers should have been linked to those outside their own network. (Retweet is a process of repeating of the original tweet.)
“This did not happen. One of the reasons could be that some of the followers may be cybertroopers,” said the senior lecturer at UM and a fellow of UMCEDEL.
To put it simply, she said the Twitter exercise reflected limited communication that was confined to Najib and those within his network.
“This is one of the reasons why BN lost the cyberwar against the opposition because tweets must generate chain reaction,” she added.
According to socialbakers.com which measures social network statistics, Najib has 1.67 million followers on Twitter since he began the account four years and 10 months ago. The prime minister has only tweeted some 4,500 times
But his main political foe, opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibraim, has only 359,007 followers although his account started six years and four months ago. Anwar has tweeted nearly 30,000 times.
Surinderpal said in comparison the network of pro-Pakatan Rakyat (PR) and impartial Malaysians may not have high volume but the impact was present because they were linked to other networks.
She noted that PR’s Black 505 rallies after the election were widely known due to information from Twitter despite lack of coverage about the event in the mainstream media.
She also said Anwar had gained more currency as a household name after the election due to the microblogging service. – July 24, 2013
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The fact that the analysis is not open for public view and TMI only reported about the essence of the analysis, based on the quotation of the Dr Surinderpal Kaur on the paper presented in a seminar held by UMCEDEL. Whether or not Dr Surinderpal study and analysis is accurate, it is open for debate.
The party which Prime Minister Najib lead as the President, obtained 11% more seats in the Parliament and two extra State Governments previously won by the Oppositions in the 13GE on 5 May 2013 as compared to the 12GE on 8 March 2008. Thus the Oppositions were reduced to controlling only three State Governments.
The Malay support for UMNO haas been strengthened further when UMNO’s candidate for N01 Kuala Besut by-election Tengku Zaihan Che Ku Abd Rahman won with an increased majority last night.
PM: Kemenangan di Kuala Besut bukti Umno masih menyerlah
JULY 24, 2013
Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak (gambar) berkata, kemenangan Barisan Nasional (BN) pada Pilihan Raya Kecil (PRK) kerusi Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Kuala Besut hari ini membuktikan kekuatan Umno masih menyerlah.
Maka, beliau berkata, usaha untuk memperkukuh Umno akan terus diperkasa supaya mampu menambah keyakinan rakyat terhadap Barisan Nasional (BN).
“Alhamdulillah, BN menang di Kuala Besut dan terima kasih kepada semua pengundi di Kuala Besut yang menyokong BN.
“InsyaAllah kita akan tunaikan semua janji pilihan raya kita ,” katanya kepada pemberita selepas majlis berbuka puasa Perdana Menteri dan isteri, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor bersama sahabat, ketua bahagian, Puteri, Pemuda dan Wanita Umno di Seri Perdana.
Najib berkata demikian ketika mengulas kemenangan calon BN Tengku Zaihan Che Ku Abd Rahman dengan majoriti 2,592 undi ke atas calon PAS, Endot@Azlan Yusof pada PRK Kuala Besut.
Beliau melahirkan keyakinan dengan kredibiliti Tengku Zaihan, 37, untuk terus berkhidmat kepada masyarakat setempat.
“Saya yakin beliau tokoh muda yang berkebolehan. Ini petanda baik sokongan rakyat terhadap BN.
“Pertambahan majoriti kemenangan menunjukkan prestasi yang menggalakkan dan semoga ia dapat memberikan semangat yang lebih kepada semua anggota BN untuk menambah sumbangan dan daya juang,” katanya. – Bernama, 24 Julai, 2013.
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Whether or not the tweets are being retweeted and circulated back and forth between BN cybertroopers as Dr Surinderpal claimed, they must have some degree of escalating effect. The impact should be measured by the increased in support Prime Minister Najib and UMNO got.
It is undeniable that the majority of this nation, the Malays and their party, UMNO, which is the backbone of BN prevailed in the 13GE.
It is defective to state that Anwar Ibrahim’s currency improved by the traffic of micro-blogging. The fact is that the Opposition faired in slightly more Parliamentary seats in the 13GE is due to the ‘Chinese Tsunami’.
Considering the ‘political sabotage’ by the Chinese of the BN’s concept of power-share since the 1955 Federal Consultative Election, UMNO did very well in Johor, Sabah and Pahang and managed to recapture the Kedah and Perak State Governments.
The fact is that 62.09% of BN votes for Parliamentary seats actually went to UMNO candidates.
The majority of those who attended the failed Oppositions’ held ‘Black 505’ rallies to get the snowball effect for the rakyat to rise for the “Malaysian Spring” and topple the BN controlled Federal Government, are the Chinese. As the leading minority, they would not get the desired effect if the majority are not with them despite whether or not there were so-called ‘substantial increase in micro-blogging and social networking’ messages.
As they say, “The proof of the pudding is in the eating”. ‘Impact’, must be translated in realisable effect of support and power. Not just theoretical.
The "thirteen million plus Ringgit" guy rambles.... 
[…] The “thirteen million plus Ringgit” guy rambles…. […]
“Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak (gambar) berkata, kemenangan Barisan Nasional (BN) pada Pilihan Raya Kecil (PRK) kerusi Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Kuala Besut hari ini membuktikan kekuatan Umno masih menyerlah.
Maka, beliau berkata, usaha untuk memperkukuh Umno akan terus diperkasa supaya mampu menambah keyakinan rakyat terhadap Barisan Nasional (BN).
“Alhamdulillah, BN menang di Kuala Besut dan terima kasih kepada semua pengundi di Kuala Besut yang menyokong BN………..”
Lepas orang Melayu bagi kemenangan ini, janganlah lupakan jasa mereka. Jangan cakap terima kasih hari ini, esoknya balik mengipas punggung Cina.
DUN Kuala Besut:17,683 pengundi – 17,463 pengundi Melayu, Cina 125, selebihnya pengundi bangsa lain.
No doubt about the fact that UMNO ‘masih menyerlah’. Malays still want UMNO but may not want it to be led by liberals at the expense of UMNO ‘s fight for ‘agama, bangsa dan tanahair’. More Malays vote for UMNO to ensure Malay political survival and reject politics of kowtowing to others at the expense of the Malays. UMNO needs a leader who is brave and would not be swayed by liberals out to create a false sense of freedom and openess. A leader who thinks in terms of the struggle and aspiration of UMNO. If not then it is only fair to UMNO for such leader to bow out.
I support the opinion that no Malay is liberal if he does not believe in leveling the playing field, in implementing the NEP aggressively to attain not just 30% of corporate wealth but also wealth in all other aspects of the economy, and that the percentage needs not be just 30%. A has been said, the fellow is pseudo-liberal or liberal olok olok and should be replaced from the UMNO Presidency.
No such thing as being liberal at the expense of the objectives of UMNO which were openly declared since the party formation some 60 years ago. Putting aside those objectives in favour of the Chinese is tantamount to treachery of UMNO, nay, of the Malays.
It’s utterly stupid to bend backwards to catch Chinese votes, stupidier still to continue doing so after the Chinese tsunami, instead of concentrating on efforts to reward the Malays and the Bumiputeras of Sabah and Sarawak for giving the 88 seats and the 30 or so seats in east Malaysia.
Najib’s words and deeds have emboldened even the no good MCA Youth Chief and former Deputy Education Minister Wee Ka Siong who questioned the quota system (must have been implemented by the Officers concerned with endorsement of Muhyiddin the Education Minister) that he said should be meritocracy system in awarding scholarships and allotting places in IPTAs. Hell, the bloke is now talking the DAP line – Chinese tsunami, too, is he?
Najib wants to perkasa UMNO to increase confidence of the people for the BN. Hmm..why put such a heavy burden on UMNO yet the Malays are sidelined and many UMNO heavyweights from Semenanjung were sidelined from Cabinet posts. Malays support UMNO more, not because of Najib but because Malays want a strong UMNO presence to compensate for a weak UMNO leadership.
Dr Surinderpal Kaur, if you categorically placed Najib’s tweet failure as a reason for not producing the desired effect, you must be in dreamland..and so was the reporter who filed in the report.
Both these people failed to see the Chinese tsunami, or even if they did, did not wish for it to become a reason. Please tell me why, in your infite wisdom, do the RURAL VOTERS still vote BN and by extension PM Najib? Do these rural people follow the tweets??? My foot lah you silly buggers??
The Chinese has already decided to vote opposition and no tweets or logical reasoning nor performance were factored in by the Chinese community…The Chinese want POWER…period….they tasted economic success in a so-called deprived land…and now they want to control everything. If you two are blind enough not to see those factors, what else can I say about the rest in our country.
No wonder, even after 56 years of independence we still never reached we have yet to see the same kind of patriotism from the non Malays towards Persekutuan Tanah Melayu…(now known as Malaysia). We will never see Malaysian in TOTAL have absolute patriotism like the Siamese/Thais.
You see, Chinese and Indians are economic animals. A place is only a factor where they make money but not patrriotism, they have no sense of loyalty…and they move from one land to another….proof?? why then did they migrate from their motherland of China and India to other places???
It is only the Malays and other Bumiputras who will defend this land as this is the only place we want to live and die.
So, tweet was not a decisive factor in GE13 in Malaysia, unlike in USofA where its citizens displays a sense of belonging with fervor. Even naturalize citizens in US speaks English well, some speak very well. Can we say the same thing about Malaysians. You can count those who speak good BM with the fingers of your hands. Speak to any Chinese etc and I can bet you they will stumble, unlike their brethren in Indonesia who will speak Indonesian brilliantly,
I think Anwar’s name was already well know for his sexploits and postponed sex cases and not necessarily because of microblogging service. I think there were more people during reformasi time than the 505 movement which eventually became a whimper and died down.Any Tweeter was not even in anyone’s mind then.
Next time if you want to make an analysis, please watch out. There are many people witnessing history as it unfolds in Malaysia and just because some carries a Dr does not make their findings anymore accurate than a season old man in a kedai kopi….
Try again. Dr “whatsoever Kaur” and whoever the journalist maybe..not all Malaysians are stupid and silly..as you seem to think Malaysians are…maybe I am the stupid one for responding to such a silly report by the Dr…I should have just dumped in the thrash can or wipe my grandchildren bottom and shit with that report….silly silly silly
This Dr Pal Kaur is trying to milk some dehydrated juice from all the high expenses spent on getting the PR into Putrajaya. Anwar is not even an important factor except for the fact that he can SPLIT the Malay votes.
The funds thrown in did not yield the desired results, hence the rehashing of inconsequential issues to play to the political gallery.
Nothing more than just a mischievous academic exercise.
I think BD’s sarcasm is at his pinnacle.
From where I’m looking at this posting,
BD is getting Najib Razak being snookered in his own game.
Look how things developed the past 2.5 months; ‘Chinese Tsunami’, ‘systemic failure’, War Room Whores Wrong, MCA Gambit, the East-Malay Cabinet, EO coming back/Sedition’s leaving, AAX-Utusan spat, Politicians’ Posting Presents, Marino’s Mouth-wash and BahKutTeh trap.
Despite all that, coupled with low internet/3G penetration in Kuala Besut, the Malay support still prevail.
Najib Razak shouldnt take the Malays for granted. Must be graceful becoz of the Malay support, he’s still PM
AH JIB GOR Prince Of 1M
Ah Jib Gorrr,PM 67 hari, masih sibuk dengan pengagihan jawatan dan kedudukan di kerajaan dan glc.
.Pandai jaga duit kunun ,main beli aje asset tanpa siasat runding turun harge.Money is no problem, tapi ingat sikit ,siapa yang dapat komsen finders fees brokerage legal fees.
Ah Jib Gorr adalah::
a.1M4U outreach
b.Sahabat Cameron,Prince wannabe, ucap tahniah kpd Anak raja ingeris dapat anak,Anglophile, Neville Chamberlain klon
c.Suami FLOM .
d.Ketua politikal Lab
f.Bapak liberal engage inklusive
g Bapak sekolah cina vernakular .
h.1M4U transformasi
i. Penyokong tegar MUFC Tony FFFFF AIR ASIA .
j.Banyak “cash dan asset” di Malaysia,bolih beli semua bangunan mahal di LONDON, MY SECOND HOME.
k. 10,000 pound sterling untuk OUTREACH 1M4U di England.
l.Tok Penghulu LONDON MY SECOND HOME.,akan dapat pangkat SIR.sbb tolong orang putih,dan selamat dapat anak,kpd putera Inggeris
m. Ah Jib Gor di sampahkan tsunami cinabeng tetap kena kencing hancing….walau pun the most sinocised pm in history.
n. Ah Jib Gor sepak Orang Melayu dan bumiputra yang desak balasan atas kejayaan UMNO dapat 88 kerusi. Masih tak mau mengaku melayu.Kasi RM500,baik to sah langsung.
o. Ah Jib gor yang amat seronok dengan orang putih dan sahabat kepada zionist dan anti Islam cameron.Rasa.tak seronok sesama Islam. Anglopile tegar.
p. Ah Jib gorrrr nama kan diri nya presiden parti melayu terbesar dengan 3 juta ahli. .Utamakan kepentingan barat Obama Cameron EU .
q. Ketua in chief off budget agency 1MDB dan PMO.
Orang melayu desak: Ah Jib Gor Letak jawatan tak payah tunggu tukar Presiden .
Naikkan presiden orang melayu baru di PAU.
saya ulang: kalau tak kenang jasa melayu,letak jawatan Presiden
arjuna waspada
changkat lobak..
Any study done by the likes of Merdeka Centre run by Anwar Al Juburi’s crony is suspect. Any study reported and spinned (spelling untended for effect) by Malaysian Insider is kopek.
Indeed, there are studies upon studies, surveys and polls of all sorts. Where methodology and criteria used are not explained, they become subject to all sorts of speculation. Choice of material used, kind of survey respondents and even the results can be tailored to suit individual or group’s beliefs or purposes. Not least, of course, are political purposes. Of the Opposition.
Surinderpal mentions “likely cybertroopers or paid social media practitioners”. No proof of anyone being paid, is there? If there are any, surely they exist on both sides of the divide. It is also said the study was based on about 900,000 tweets on the election. But were they the only tweets existing? Were there not more than those? How exhaustive was her search?
And no mention about the tweets among the Opposition camp? No mention at all about the BN tweets among them? No counter tweets, specifically denying, condemning or reacting to the BN tweets? If there were, were they taken into account when evaluating the effects of the BN tweets? Can her words ” lacked impact” then be considered fair and reliable?
Big Dog,
Totally agree with you. No point throwing theories, pointing out flaws on one’s strategy while complimenting the other, doing everything by the book. A good social media strategy is one that translates into action, numbers can only tell us so little while leaving the rest unanswered.
Just because you have more followers it doesn’t mean you have stronger influence towards the public. Just because the public believes in you and are more attuned to your social media updates, it doesn’t mean you have the power to influence them holistically too.
These people seem to believe that social media is the “be all and end all” to politics. While social media is important, as it pretty much as important as print or digital media, it is stupid to just focus on one landscape and expect it to make magic.
Equally as stupid by focusing on “number of followers” or “Retweets” to measure the success of one’s political career. Idiotic “social media experts” trying to sound like a think-tank. pathetic.
Good job on destroying Surinder’s opinion, big dog.
This proves the failure of the opposition in their strategy to use social media ONLY without considering the rural folks’ sentiment.
Anwar may win in tweets but fact is, he lost his bid to be PM.
Anyway why bring up such issue? Dah basi pun.