Amanah Media Exposure: Mat Sabu leading; Salahuddin remains quiet
We often see PKR, DAP and Bersatu making headlines in the media but less on PAS splinter party, Amanah. In the 2018 general election, Amanah contributed 11 seats to Pakatan Harapan (PH). Although Amanah has the least seats in the Dewan Rakyat, the party still contributed to Pakatan Harapan’s victory in GE-14.
According to the chart above, the Mohamad Sabu-led party has a decreasing trend in terms of news exposure after May, the month GE-14 was conducted. The party media exposure only had some increase in December.
Looking individually at the top leadership performance in 2018, Amanah president Mohamad Sabu is the most popular politician in the party. He has the highest exposure, peaking in May with 1,364 news.
Prior to GE-14, he was known for his humorous campaigning speeches, making him stood out among his party-mates. Mat Sabu popularity spiked even further when he was appointed as the Minister of Defence on the 21st of May 2018.
However, after GE-14, Mat Sabu’s exposure seems to level off with other members except for Salahuddin Ayub who is relatively more silent.
In 2019, Mat Sabu is still leading with the highest percentage in the share of voice for the past 30 days. It can also be seen that Khalid Samad also has a significant portion in the share of voice for the past 7 days. At the same time, Salahuddin Ayub remains low-profile.
As Amanah deputy president and also the Minister of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry, his low exposure might affect his acceptability in the future as the public did not witness his performance.