Watching the Watchdog 2.0 Daily Express

Section 1: Coverage of Political Parties and Coalitions 1.1 Volume of Coverage of Parties & Coalitions Figure 1: Volume of Coverage of Political Parties & Coalitions

IKATAN 0.00 0.03 Gagasan Sejahtera 0.03 0.04 PBB 0.08 0.09 PDP 0.11 0.16 SUPP 0.26 0.39 MIC 0.43 0.53 LDP 0.84 1.03 PPBM 1.37 1.41 AMANAH 1.46 1.79 MCA 1.84 2.23 PAS 3.57 3.66 DAP 5.42 5.45 Warisan 5.60 6.25 UMNO 7.74 7.89 BN 28.32 0.00 5.00 10.00 15.00 20.00 25.00 30.00

• BN received the most coverage (28.32%), followed by UMNO (7.74%) and PH (6.25%).

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Figure 2: Volume of Coverage of Political Parties & Coalitions: Government vs. Opposition vs. Independent/Other

GS 4.49

Independent 1.96

PH 31.89

BN 61.67

0.00 10.00 20.00 30.00 40.00 50.00 60.00 70.00

• Once parties/coalitions’ coverage volumes are combined, BN received the highest level of coverage (61.67%), followed by PH (31.89%) and GS (4.49%).

1.2 Tone of Coverage of Political Parties & Coalitions Figure 3: Raw Tonal Coverage Volume of Political Parties & Coalitions Attacked Positive Negative 1% 2% 3%

Neutral 94% • The Neutral tone was used the most (94%), followed by Negative (3%) and Positive (2%).

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Figure 4.1: Attacked Political Party & Coalition Coverage

STAR 0.00 USNO 0.00 LDP 0.00 SUPP 0.00 SAPP 0.00 PSM 0.00 PRM 0.00 PRS 0.00 PDP 0.00 PCM 0.00 PBB 0.00 PAS 0.00 MIC 0.00 IKATAN 0.00 Gerakan 0.00 Gagasan Sejahtera 0.00 AMANAH 1.85 UPKO 1.85 PKR 1.85 PBS 1.85 PBRS 1.85 MCA 1.85 Warisan 3.70 Other 3.70 PPBM 3.70 UMNO 4.63 DAP 7.41 BN 13.89 PH 18.52 0.00 2.00 4.00 6.00 8.00 10.00 12.00 14.00 16.00 18.00 20.00

• PH received the most Attacked coverage (18.52%), followed by BN (13.89%) and DAP (7.41%).

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Figure 4.2: Negative Political Party & Coalition Coverage

LDP 0.00 PSM 0.00 PRM 0.00 PRS 0.00 PDP 0.00 PCM 0.00 PBB 0.00 MIC 0.00 MCA 0.00 IKATAN 0.00 Gerakan 0.00 Gagasan Sejahtera 0.00 STAR 0.83 AMANAH 0.83 SUPP 1.25 SAPP 1.25 PBRS 1.25 PAS 2.08 USNO 2.50 UPKO 2.50 PKR 3.33 Other 3.75 PPBM 3.75 PH 4.17 PBS 4.58 UMNO 6.67 DAP 8.33 Warisan 8.75 BN 24.17 0.00 5.00 10.00 15.00 20.00 25.00 30.00

• BN received the most Negative coverage (24.17%), followed by Warisan (8.75%) and DAP (8.33%).

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Figure 5.1: Positive Political Party & Coalition Coverage

USNO 0.00 PSM 0.00 PRM 0.00 PRS 0.00 PDP 0.00 PCM 0.00 PBB 0.00 MIC 0.00 IKATAN 0.00 Gerakan 0.00 Gagasan Sejahtera 0.00 STAR 0.69 UPKO 0.69 SUPP 0.69 SAPP 0.69 PPBM 0.69 LDP 1.39 PBRS 1.39 Other 2.08 PAS 2.08 AMANAH 2.78 UMNO 2.78 MCA 2.78 DAP 3.47 PBS 4.17 Warisan 4.86 PH 4.86 PKR 4.86 BN 47.92 0.00 10.00 20.00 30.00 40.00 50.00 60.00

• BN received the most positive coverage (47.92%). • PKR, PH, and Warisan received the same amount of positive coverage (4.86%).

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Figure 5.2: Neutral Political Party & Coalition Coverage

IKATAN 0.00 PCM 0.03 Gagasan Sejahtera 0.03 PSM 0.04 PBB 0.08 PRM 0.10 PDP 0.11 PRS 0.17 SUPP 0.23 Gerakan 0.42 MIC 0.47 USNO 0.48 LDP 0.88 PBRS 1.01 PPBM 1.27 AMANAH 1.43 STAR 1.47 UPKO 1.78 MCA 1.90 SAPP 2.34 PBS 3.64 PAS 3.72 DAP 5.35 PKR 5.39 Warisan 5.55 PH 6.19 UMNO 7.94 Other 8.24 BN 28.36 0.00 5.00 10.00 15.00 20.00 25.00 30.00

• BN received the most Neutral coverage (28.36%) followed by UMNO (7.94%) and PH (6.19%).

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Figure 6: Tone of Coverage of Political Parties & Coalitions: Government vs. Opposition vs. Independent/Other

4.67 2.40 GS 2.73 0.00

2.04 0.80 Independent 1.09 0.00

31.33 24.80 PH 38.25 58.82

61.96 72.00 BN 57.92 41.18

0.00 10.00 20.00 30.00 40.00 50.00 60.00 70.00 80.00

Neutral Positive Negative Attacked

• PH received the most Attacked coverage, while BN received the most Neutral, Positive, and Negative coverage.

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Section 2: Coverage of Politicians and Political Figures 2.1 Volume of Coverage of Politicians & Political Figures Figure 7: Volume of Coverage of Politicians & Political Figures

Joseph Pairin Kitingan 1.13

Musa Aman 3.04

Shafie Apdal 3.73

Najib Razak 6.14

Mahathir Mohamad 6.58

0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00

• Only the top 5 most mentioned politicians are shown on this graph. • Out of these 5, Mahathir Mohamad received the most mentions by a significant proportion (6.58%), followed by Najib Razak (6.14%).

Figure 8: Volume of Coverage of Politicians & Political Figures: Government vs. Opposition vs. Independent/Other BN 15%

PH 16%

GS 0% Others 69%

• When the mentions of individual politicians and political figures are combined and merged into their respective coalitions, we can see that coverage of figures is skewed towards Independent/ Others (69%). • There was more coverage of PH compared to BN.

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2.2 Volume of the Use of Politicians & Political Figures as Sources Figure 9: Volume of the Use of Politicians & Political Figures as Sources

Yong Teck Lee 2.91

Shafie Apdal 3.01

Ahmad Zahid Hamidi 3.04

Musa Aman 4.27

Najib Razak 6.61

0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00

• Only the top 5 most mentioned politicians are shown on this graph. • Out of these 5, Najib Razak received the most coverage (6.61%), followed by Musa Aman (4.27%).

Figure 10: Volume of the Use of Politicians & Political Figures As Sources: Government vs. Opposition vs. Independent/Other

BN 25%

Others PH 63% 11%

GS 1%

• When the mentions of individual politicians and political figures are combined and merged into their respective coalitions, we can see that coverage is skewed towards Independent/ Others (63%). BN received more coverage than PH and GS.

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2.3 Tone of Coverage of Politicians & Political Figures Figure 11: Raw Tonal Coverage Volume of Politicians & Political Figures Attacked Positive Negative 1% 3% 1%

Neutral 95% • Of all the tonal categories used in the coverage of politicians and political figures, the neutral category was used the most often (95%), followed by the negative category (3%).

Figure 12.1: Negative Coverage of Politicians & Political Figures

Muhyiddin Yassin 2.13

Musa Aman 3.72

Najib Razak 7.45

Shafie Apdal 9.04

Mahathir Mohamad 15.43

0.00 2.00 4.00 6.00 8.00 10.00 12.00 14.00 16.00 18.00

• In terms of the tone of mentions of politicians and political figures, Mahathir Mohamad received the highest negative coverage (15.43%), followed by Shafie Apdal (9.04%).

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Figure 12.2: Attacked Coverage of Politicians & Political Figures

Abang Johari Tun Openg 2.00

Musa Aman 2.00

Ahmad Zahid Hamidi 4.00

Najib Razak 14.00

Mahathir Mohamad 20.00

Shafie Apdal 30.00

0.00 5.00 10.00 15.00 20.00 25.00 30.00 35.00

• Shafie Apdal was attacked the most (30%), followed by Mahathir Mohamad (20%).

Figure 13.1: Positive Coverage of Politicians & Political Figures

Tony Pua 2.13

Tian Chua 2.13

Shafie Apdal 2.13

Musa Aman 5.32

Mahathir Mohamad 5.32

Najib Razak 11.70

0.00 2.00 4.00 6.00 8.00 10.00 12.00 14.00

• In terms of the tone of mentions of politicians and political figures, Najib Razak received the most positive coverage (11.70%), followed by Mahathir Mohamad and Musa Aman (5.32%).

Figure 13.2: Neutral Coverage of Politicians & Political Figures

Joseph Pairin Kitingan 1.19

Musa Aman 2.96

Shafie Apdal 3.27

Najib Razak 5.93

Mahathir Mohamad 6.14

0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00

• Mahathir Mohamad received the most neutral coverage (6.14%), followed by Najib Razak (5.93%).

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Figure 14: Tone of Coverage of Politicians & Political Figures: Government vs. Opposition vs. Independent/Other

Attacked 28.30 Neutral 68.99

Others Negative 55.21 Positive 62.24 Attacked 0.00 Neutral 0.41 GS Negative 0.00 Positive 0.00 Attacked 49.06 Neutral 16.05 PH Negative 29.69 Positive 15.31 Attacked 22.64 Neutral 14.56

BN Negative 15.10 Positive 22.45

0.00 10.00 20.00 30.00 40.00 50.00 60.00 70.00 80.00

Overall, Independent/Others received the highest Positive, Negative, and Neutral coverage, while PH received the highest Attacked coverage.

2.4 Tone of the Use of Politicians & Political Figures As Sources: Attack Politics or Negative Campaigning Figure 15: Attack Politics: Which Politicians and Political Figures Employ 'Attack Politics' Most Often?

Mahathir Mohamad 3.18

Shafie Apdal 6.37

Ahmad Zahid Hamidi 6.37

Musa Aman 9.55

Najib Razak 14.65

0.00 2.00 4.00 6.00 8.00 10.00 12.00 14.00 16.00

• This graph is weighted to show attack politics as a proportion of overall use as source. • Najib Razak was the politician most likely to engage in attack politics (14.65%), followed by Musa Aman (9.55%).

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Figure 16: Attack Politics: Which Coalition Employs Attack Politics Most Often?

BN 25%

Others PH 63% 11%

GS 1%

• This graph is weighted to show attack politics as a proportion of overall use as source. • Overall, Independent/ Others party politicians engaged in attack politics most often (63%), followed by BN (25%) and PH (11%).

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Section 3: Coverage of Issues 3.1. Volume of Media Coverage of Policy Issues vs Non-Policy Issues Figure 17: Coverage of Policy vs Non-Policy Issues

Policy Issues 32%

Non-policy Issues 68%

Note: Non-policy issues were covered more than Policy issues.

Figure 18: Policy Issues

Oppressive Legislation Religion National Security 4% 1% 5% Foreign Policy 3%

Education Vision 8% 40%

Economy/Develop ment Environment 34% 5%

Note: Vision/Policy/Programme was the most covered topic, followed by Economy/Development and Education.

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Figure 18.1: Breakdown of Vision/Policy/Programme 1Malaysia TN50 NEP 1% 0% PH Welfare NEM 1% 0% 1% Transformasi 2%

BN Manifesto 32%

Other 57%

PH Manifesto 6%

Note: BN manifesto was the most covered, followed by PH Manifesto and Transformasi.

Figure 18.2: Breakdown of Economy/Development Issues 1MDB Recession 4% 3% Welfare Other 11% 25% Unemployment 2% Poverty 3% Privatisation 0% Growth FTA 2% 0% Housing 11% Inflation/GST 1%

Infrastructure 38%

Note: Infrastructure was the most covered topic, followed by Housing and Welfare. Inflation/GST was not covered much, along with very occasional coverage of Privatisation and FTA.

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Figure 19: Non-Policy Issues Electioneering 13% Ethnicity Gender 19% 1% Mudslinging 3% Religion 2% Democracy & Human Rights 5% Socioeconomic sectors 6%

Territory 51%

Note: Territory was the most covered topic, followed by Ethnicity and Electioneering.

Figure 19.1: Breakdown of Socioeconomic Sectors Aristocracy/Monarchy Middle class/Professionals Working class 0% 1% 3% Civil service 3% Other Military and police 28% 11% FELDA 1% Plantation/estate workers 1% Senior Citizens/Retirees 3% Urban 5%

Cost of living 13%

Rural 31%

Note: Rural was the most covered socioeconomic sector covered, followed by Cost of living, and Military and Police.

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Figure 19.2: Breakdown of Territory Issues Breakdown of Territory Issues

Semenanjung/Sabah/Sarawak 146 Bangsa Johor 1 Sabah Independence 1 Sarawak Independence 0 Terengganu 17 Selangor 51 Sarawak 207 Sabah 1106 Penang 64 Perlis 6 Perak 34 Pahang 21 Negeri Sembilan 19 Malacca 9 Kelantan 49 Kedah 50 Johor 99 Putrajaya 40 Labuan 139 Kuala Lumpur 32

0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200

Note: Sabah was the most covered territory, followed by Sarawak and Labuan.

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