GE15: Sentiments played by media affected on-the-fence voters

SHAH ALAM - The result of the 15th General Election (GE15) has proven that media sentiments play a major role in influencing youth and on-the-fence voters to determine the future of parties contesting.

Universiti Selangor (Unisel) Deputy Vice-Chancellor Associate Professor Dr Hamdan Mohd Salleh said the issues that could be seen played up by the media were who would be the country's prime minister.

"For these past two weeks, Perikatan Nasional (PN) was leading with 69 per cent, Pakatan Harapan (PH) with 62 per cent while BN was far behind.

"For instance you can see BN's internal issues had impacted them. We also see the power of TikTok won by PN," he said at a Sinar Love programme titled 'Siapa Sangka Siapa Duga' hosted by Fahiz Ariff.

The programme, which featured Political Analyst Professor Dr. Ahmad Martada Mohamed, was aired on all Sinar Harian digital platforms on Sunday.

He said Malay voters had swung their votes towards PN in this election.

He believed that BN could not afford to lose this election because it would be catastrophic for them.

"They too the risk of dissolving Parliament even when their coalitions disagree, the risk was high and proven disastrous.

"I actually think that the people are still dissatisfied, as the government disbanded the Parliament when there are pressing issues like flood.

"The people reacted by rejecting BN candidates who contested on polling day," he said.