SHAH ALAM, March 11 — Close to 50 per cent of Johor voters residing out of the state will not be coming down to cast their votes in the upcoming state election tomorrow.
A recent survey by Institut Darul Ehsan (IDE) found that 49.4 per cent out of the 3,200 respondents in Johor said their family members would not return home to cast their votes, against 30.4 per cent who has plans to come back.
The voting trends found in the survey revealed that 51.2 per cent of voters will vote for the same party they choose in the 14th General Election. In comparison, 26.8 per cent said they might vote for a different party, and between five to seven per cent will not go out to vote.
“The personality factors of the candidates or support due to political party factors varies based on the voting trend of the Johor state polls.
“Two main factors defined the voters’ preferences where 37.6 per cent of the respondents said they will vote based on the candidates’ strength, while 34.8 per cent said they will choose based on the political party and only 15.4 per cent on local issues championed by candidates,” said IDE in a statement on the survey titled ‘Perception Landscape of Johor Voters Before the 2022 Johor State Election,’
The study also revealed that 42 per cent of the respondents said that the Covid-19 pandemic would not stop them from voting, while 32 per cent were unsure if they would take the risk.
Meanwhile, most of the voters in the state were said to have relied on Whatsapp, Facebook and Youtube as their primary sources to get political news and information.
“The voters aged between 18 and 30 are more inclined to use Whatsapp, Instagram and Tiktok to get news on politics,” said IDE in a statement yesterday.
In terms of media preference, the study showed that a majority of the respondents would turn to Buletin TV3, Berita TV2/8TV and Astro Awani television news segments or channels for the current political updates. In contrast, those aged between 18 and 30 preferred Buletin TV3 and Astro Awani.
The study also revealed that four local issues are the main focus of the voters, namely housing, infrastructure, crime rate and social problems.
“As for national issues, Johor voters are interested in the Covid-19 pandemic, rising prices of goods, political instability and the abuse of power and corruption,” it said.
The survey was conducted via face-to-face interviews of 3,200 respondents between February 18 and 22, involving 40 trained enumerators, who are graduates from universities in Johor and the Klang Valley.
