Malaysia Budget 20126 – 14 OCTOBER 2011

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Introduction

This report presents the findings of media analysis of coverage between 6 and 14 October 2011. This period covers the date immediately before the announcement of the Malaysian 2012 Budget (7 October), up until a week after this announcement.

For the purpose of this analysis, coverage was sampled proportionally from a list of media outlets that were selected on the basis of:

> Audience size, beginning with the outlets that reach the largest audiences in the country; and

> Volume of reporting.

This resulted in a sample of 756 media reports for analysis.

Social media analysis was also conducted on a representative sample of the total 3,526 social media posts that originated from Malaysia in this time. The social media posts that were monitored by Brandtology appeared on forums, blogs, news websites, review sites, Q&As, microblogs, the public pages of social networking sites and video sites (comments only).

The sample of online social media discussion has been chosen to be representative of overall social media posts. This is done by:

(a) Selecting online posts for analysis from representative online channels; and

(b) Setting a sub-sample for each market based on proportional size.

Thus, a spread of online posts across subjects, across the period has been analysed. The net sentiment shown throughout this report was determined from these sampled posts.

A representative sample of blog posts were also analysed to determine the messages that they conveyed about the Budget, so that comparisons could be drawn with those that were communicated in the analysed news media coverage.

2

NEWS MEDIA

SOCIAL MEDIA (SAMPLED POSTS)

CHART 1

CHART 2

> The Malaysian Budget 2012 was broadly labelled a “people’s Budget” in the news media. Nearly half of the analysed coverage focused on the rakyat (citizens), with often detailed discussion of the possible impacts on citizens of the various policy announcements. This included the government’s cash handouts – often described in the media as “goodies” – for various segments of society, such as lower income households, students and retirees. As a result of this sort of discussion, the overall analysed news coverage was predominantly favourable.

> As opposed to news media coverage, the sentiment of social media discussion of the Malaysian Budget 2012 was negative, particularly in the context of the economy and the private sector. This negative sentiment was largely due to criticisms of “excessive” cash handouts from the government, with suggestions that this was aimed only at winning electoral votes rather than at boosting Malaysia’s economic growth.

Executive summary – story focus

3

THE RAKYAT OVERALL ECONOMY PUBLIC SECTOR PRIVATE SECTOR0

300

600

40

50

60

339

171140

106

54.9

51.8

55.2

53.0

FAV NEU UNFAV AVG FAVV

OLU

ME

FAV

OU

RA

BIL

ITY

THE RAKYAT OVERALL ECONOMY

PUBLIC SECTOR

PRIVATE SECTOR

0

100

200

-100

0

100

145 141

84

53

-13.8

-37.6 -13.1

-37.7

POS NEU NEG NET SENTIMENT

VO

LUM

E

NE

T S

EN

TIM

EN

T

These charts show the story focus of each report, article or online post that was analysed over the period.

4

BUDGETIMPLE-MENT-ATION

CIVIL SER-

VANTS

INDI-VIDUALTAX &SUB-

SIDIES

HOUSING GROWTH COR-PORATE

TAX &SUB-

SIDIES

SOCIALWELFARE

LIVINGCOST

GLOBAL ECONOMY

EM-PLOY-MENT

0

100

200

-100

0

100

7657 47

27 26 25 21 20 19 17-36.5

-14.8 -4.5-24.9

-45.2 -47.0

-14.3-25.0

-47.4

-4.9

POS NEU NEG NET SENTIMENT

VO

LUM

E

NE

T S

EN

TIM

EN

T

Executive summary - leading topics

NEWS MEDIA

SOCIAL MEDIA (SAMPLED POSTS)

CHART 3

CHART 4

These charts show the number of mentions of each topic in the analysed news media coverage and social media conversation.

The most often mentioned topics in the analysed news coverage were individual taxes and incentives, living costs, public education and social welfare. The media cited comments from various tax consultants who commented on the viability and possible impact of new policies across the different sectors. In comparison, the most frequently – and negatively – discussed topic in the analysed social media conversations was the Budget implementation. This suggests that the public has a relatively low confidence that the government will deliver the measures that it has promised.

INDI-VIDUALTAX &SUB-

SIDIES

CIVILSER-

VANTS

LIVINGCOST

BUDGETIMPLE-MENT-ATION

PUBLICEDU-

CATION

GROWTH SOCIALWELFARE

MINISTRYALLO-

CATION

GLOBALECONOMY

COR-PORATE

TAX &SUB-

SIDIES

0

200

400

40

50

60

206175 165 160 160 142 128 117 111 94

53.5 53.654.9

52.9

55.553.4

56.0 56.5

50.852.5

FAV NEU UNFAV AVG FAV

VO

LUM

E

FAV

OU

RA

BIL

ITY

> Consistently across both news and social media, the public appeared to agree that the “losers” from the Budget announcement were the middle classes, minorities such as the disabled and private sector stakeholders. The online public criticised the high Budget allocation to civil servants for bonus payouts and salary increments while low-income groups from the private sector were neglected.

> Across both news and social media, the most common criticisms of the 2012 Budget were that it was short-sighted, not sustainable, and “unrealistic” in terms of the prospects for the Malaysian economy in the near future. Overall, opposition leaders and economists were among the most vocal critics of the Budget’s contribution to the sustainable development of the economy, while middle-class professionals mostly discussed its lack of inclusiveness.

> The news media coverage analysed frequently quoted Chua Hak Bin, an economist from the Bank of America Merrill Lynch, who held a cautious view on the growth outlook and, thus, the implementation of the Budget. His comments resonated with those of other economists and opposition party stakeholders.

> Some online posts further suggested that the civil services have become highly politicised over the years due to higher distributions from the Budget going to civil servants in order to get them to support the government.

> Speculation about whether the government would impose a Goods and Services Tax (GST) appeared frequently before the Budget announcement. Although the GST was not introduced in Budget 2012, the online public expressed concerns that the government might impose the tax if they win the upcoming general election.

> Although the Prime Minister actively promoted the Budget as “transformational”, this message did not appear frequently; instead, the analysed news and social media coverage reported comments that were

contradictory to this message, such as “lack of reforms”, “no surprise” and “neutral impact to [the stock] market”. A considerable number of online posts criticised the Budget for neither providing permanent changes to the structure of Malaysia’s taxation system, nor guidance to eliminate regulations and promote spending in order to build a strong domestic consumer market.

CONCLUSION> Given the wide concerns expressed about the economic sustainability of

the Budget proposals, the government could consider more proactively communicating specific details about the proposals to the public. This could include providing more information about the development and implementation of the projects, and addressing queries from the public in a timely manner. This will help to boost public confidence about the government’s accountability in delivering the promises made in the Budget, especially in the current global economic climate.

> Although the Prime Minister and government ministers have an undeniably strong presence in news media, opposition leaders seem to be utilising social media more effectively to communicate their messages. Government representatives are still lacking a presence in forums and blogs, whereas opposition leaders and members of the middle-class were active in these areas. A greater government engagement in the social media space is therefore encouraged.

> Future news and social media tracking should relate to the implementation process and results of high-profile projects, which are commonly the focus of media and public interest. This would include financial aid offers for lower-income groups; ministry funding of projects such as the new women’s and children’s hospitals; upgrades of rural clinics; Kedai 1Malaysia; the Langkawi tourism project; and upgrades for the Royal Malaysian Police.

Executive summary – further issues and conclusion

5

> During the report period, news media coverage of the Budget 2012 appeared much more prominently in both press and online outlets than in broadcast media.

> Analysed online news media included more critical discussions of the Budget (especially in Harakah Daily and the Malaysian Insider), and this online coverage was less favourable overall than press and broadcast coverage.

> Negative reporting appeared mostly in online news, blogs and other social media channels. Nonetheless, some criticisms of the 2012 Budget did also appear in news media coverage, and these criticisms across the media types were somewhat aligned. This was especially the case with regard to the sustainability of the proposed government spending and the inclusiveness of the Budget.

CHART 5

PRESS47.1%

ONLINE NEWS45.0%

TELEVISION & RADIO7.9%

NEWS MEDIA

CHART 6

SOCIAL MEDIA

Media type

BLOG44.4%

FORUM51.1%

MICROBLOG1.4%

SOCIALNETWORKING

SITE3.1%

6

These charts show the breakdown of news media types and social media channels over the analysis period.

Trend analysisCHART 7

CHART 8

This chart shows the volume and favourability of articles analysed over the report period.

This chart shows the volume and net sentiment of online posts analysed over the report period.

NEWS MEDIA

SOCIAL MEDIA (SAMPLED POSTS)

Discussion related to speculation about Budget allocation, particularly in terms of a GST.

Discussion of opposition party reviews of the government’s Budget allocations.

7

THU 6 OCT FRI 7 OCTBUDGET DAY

SAT 8 OCT SUN 9 OCT MON 10 OCT TUE 11 OCT WED 12 OCT THU 13 OCT FRI 14 OCT0

100

200

-60

0

60

VOL NET SENTIMENT

VO

LUM

E

NE

T S

EN

TIM

EN

T

THU 6 OCT FRI 7 OCTBUDGET DAY

SAT 8 OCT SUN 9 OCT MON 10 OCT TUE 11 OCT WED 12 OCT THU 13 OCT FRI 14 OCT0

100

200

40

50

60

VOL AVG FAV

VO

LUM

E

FAV

OU

RA

BIL

ITY

The rakyat responded to various news articles, expressing their concerns about and expectations of the Budget.

The media discussed the government’s “over-optimistic” target of 2012’s Budget deficit, and worrying debt levels in Malaysia.

The media focus shifted to implementation of the Budget, specifically the allocations to government ministries.

Discussions continue about the government’s handouts, with suggestions that this was undertaken in order to win public votes in the upcoming election.

8

ENGLISH49.5%

MALAY34.8%

CHINESE11.5%

TAMIL4.2%

ENGLISH58.5%

MALAY35.1%

CHINESE6.4%

Language breakdown

NEWS MEDIA

SOCIAL MEDIA

CHART 10

CHART 9A substantial proportion of the analysed news media coverage was in English and came from online news outlets, including The Star Online, Yahoo! Malaysia and Malaysian Insider.

Coverage by Malay-language media was more favourable than media in other languages. Very few unfavourable reports appeared in Malay-language press, and these largely consisted of articles about complaints from minority interest groups such the Malaysian Trade Union Congress or lecturers from private colleges. Most of the unfavourable Malay-language coverage came from online news channel Harakah Daily.

The majority of social media conversations were in English, particularly the posts that appeared on the leading channels.

NEWS COMMENTATORS VOL AVG FAV

DATUK SERI NAJIB TUN RAZAK, MALAYSIA PRIME MINISTER 67 58.0

DATUK DR. AWANG ADEK HUSSEIN, DEPUTY FINANCE MINISTER 15 55.0

TAN SRI MUHYIDDIN YASSIN, MALAYSIA DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER 12 54.2

DATUK SERI LIOW TIONG LAI, MINISTER OF HEALTH 12 54.6

DATUK MUKHRIZ TUN MAHATHIR, DEPUTY MINISTER OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE & INDUSTRY 11 54.5

DATUK SERI ANWAR IBRAHIM, OPPOSITION LEADER 9 44.4

DATUK SERI DR. NG YEN YEN, MINISTER OF TOURISM 8 55.0

CHUA HAK BIN, BANK OF AMERICA MERRILL LYNCH ECONOMIST 8 46.9

TONY PUA, MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT FOR PETALING JAYA UTARA 8 45.6

DATUK SERI AHMAD HUSNI MOHAMAD HANADZLAH, SECOND MINISTER OF FINANCE 8 58.1

INFLUENCERS CHANNELS VOL INFLUENCE SCORE

SENT-IMENT

POLARIS LOWYAT.NET FORUM– KOPITIAM 27 70 -8

EDITOR@ HORNBILL UNLEASHED

HORNBILL UNLEASHED 27 43 -2

MALAYSIAN MIRROR

MALAYSIAN MIRROR BLOG 24 43 -25

ROBERTNGO LOWYAT.NET FORUM– KOPITIAM 3 100 0

SALAHDINTHE BURSA M’SIA FORUM – PERSONAL FINANCE

3 50 0

JOE_MAMAK LOWYAT.NET FORUM– KOPITIAM 2 100 -13

RYUNARUTO MIRI COMMUNITY FORUM – LOUNGE 2 90 0

RELAXJACK MIRI COMMUNITY FORUM – LOUNGE 2 65 -13

FLAMING_LION LOWYAT.NET FORUM– KOPITIAM 1 72 0

READZZAL TWITTER – MALAYSIA 1 56 0

Commentators/influencers

TABLE 1 TABLE 2

9

Below are the leading news commentators and the most influential people in social media in the period that contributed to the topic Malaysia Budget that were most frequently reported or responded to.

News media findingsCONTENT ANALYSIS FROM NEWS MEDIA

> Most of the rakyat-focused coverage related to the rising cost of living, with discussion of incentives and assistance in the Budget for housing and public education. This coverage often linked to the announcement by the Malaysian Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, that this year’s Budget aimed to enable the government to provide for the wellbeing of the people and the prosperity of the nation. Coverage included:

“The Star columnist, Yap Leng Kuen writes, ‘It was quite a refreshing change, listening to the Budget 2012 proposals that provide an encompassing view of the multi-faceted interests and problems of the rakyat. The Government has made attempts to show that it cares about the quality of education and medical care, the plight of teachers, doctors working in government hospitals, retirees, women

and children as well as common folks requiring legal aid.’” (The Star, 8 October 2011).

> Most of the reporting that focused on the economy discussed the government’s optimistic target of reducing the 2012 Budget deficit to 4.7% of gross domestic product (GDP), down from 5.4% in 2011. Some key economists and opposition leaders questioned the viability of the government’s fiscal deficit target and economic growth projections, given the gloomy outlook for the global economy.

> Public sector-focused reporting was the most favourable overall. Minister sources, who have vested interests in their specific ministries, tended to praise the Budget allocation that had been proposed by the Prime Minister for their ministry. Civil servants, in particular, were described as benefiting from a new annual increment structure

that would lay a strong foundation for better remuneration. Coverage stated that these policies were targeted at increasing productivity in the public sector and enhancing government effectiveness in the long-term.

> A low volume of coverage focused on the private sector, but these stories were slightly favourable overall. Reports noted that the government’s move to further liberalise 17 services sub-sectors over the course of 2012, with the aim of accelerating investment, had been welcomed by many industry sources. Coverage stated that this liberalisation would enhance the dynamism of industry, and would widen opportunities for new and existing businesses to expand both within Malaysia and outside.

This chart shows the story focus of each news media report. Story focus relates to the main focus of the report, and each report can have only one story focus. The chart also shows a breakdown of favourable, neutral and unfavourable reports, and the average favourability of the coverage that focused on each main theme.

CHART 11

THE RAKYAT OVERALL ECONOMY PUBLIC SECTOR PRIVATE SECTOR0

150

300

450

600

40

45

50

55

60

339

171140

106

54.9

51.8

55.2

53.0

FAV NEU UNFAV AVG FAV

VO

LUM

E

FAV

OU

RA

BIL

ITY

Story focus

11

This chart shows the number of mentions of each topic in the analysed news media coverage. The chart shows the volume of favourable, neutral and unfavourable mentions of each topic, as well as the average favourability of the reports that mentioned each topic.> The leading topic, individual taxes and subsidies, was often mentioned

in the context of various comments from tax consultants. Most of these experts were reported to have commended the viability and the necessity of the introduction of these taxes and subsidies, frequently citing current economic conditions for the rakyat. Interestingly, the coverage that mentioned taxes and subsidies also often discussed other stakeholders, such the private sector and civil servants.

> Budget implementation was also frequently mentioned alongside other relevant topics, either through constructive suggestions about how the government should implement its Budget proposals, or criticisms of the

government’s accountability in delivering its promises to the people.> The least favourably discussed topic was the global economy. This was

understandable, given the underlying negative tone of reporting about the global economic outlook. Discussion of the topic was widespread, especially in terms of how the Budget proposals were drafted to face the challenging economic conditions. For example: “The grossly weakened global economy and the worldwide increase in energy prices have driven the cost of almost every other consumer item and service, including those of food, sharply higher … Najib, who is also finance minister, said the 2012 Budget would be about the government delivering on its promise to ensure social justice while keeping Malaysia on a strong economic course that will deliver long-term prosperity for all” (The New Straits Times, 7 October 2011).

CHART 12

INDIVIDUALTAX &

SUBSIDIES

CIVILSERVANTS

LIVINGCOST

BUDGETIMPLEMENT-

ATION

PUBLICEDUCATION

GROWTH SOCIALWELFARE

MINISTRYALLOCATION

GLOBALECONOMY

CORPORATETAX &

SUBSIDIES

0

100

200

300

400

40

45

50

55

60

206175 165 160 160

142 128 117 11194

53.5 53.654.9

52.9

55.5

53.4

56.0 56.5

50.852.5

FAV NEU UNFAV AVG FAV

VO

LUM

E

FAV

OU

RA

BIL

ITY

Leading topics

12

> The overall favourability of the news media towards the Budget was quite favourable, and the leading messages were overwhelmingly favourable.

> News media reported extensively that the Budget is in favour of the rakyat, largely as a result of the theme of this year’s Budget being “Welfare for the Rakyat, Well Being for the Nation”. This message mainly appeared in praise of the various measures that the government was taking to alleviate the burden of the people, especially to help lower income

groups to deal with rising living costs. For example, the message appeared in reports on the provision of RM500 to households that earn less than RM3,000 per month, and free school fees for primary and secondary education.

> The Budget is in favour of the public sector was another favourable message that appeared prominently in both news media. This message was expressed mainly by the various ministries and civil servants (and representatives), as they thanked the

government for the generous allocation to the public sector in terms of ministry funding and salary increases for civil servants.

This chart shows the leading tracked messages by volume that appeared in the analysed Malaysia budget coverage. Messages can be implied in reporting or conveyed explicitly, and can be either favourable or unfavourable.

CHART 13

Leading messages

13

IS IN FAVOUR OF THE RAKYAT

IS IN FAVOUR OF THE PUBLIC SECTOR

OFFERS CLEAR MEASURES TO ENHANCETHE WELL-BEING OF THE RAKYAT

STIMULATES ECONOMIC GROWTH

IS INCLUSIVE

DOES NOT PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

IS IN FAVOUR OF THE PRIVATE SECTOR

0 50 100 150 200 250 300

240

89

69

56

55

34

37

UNFAV FAVVOLUME

PUBLIC SECTOR IS SAT-ISFIED WITH THE BUDGET

89.3%

PUBLIC SECTOR IS NOT SATISFIED WITH THE

BUDGET10.7%

PRIVATE SECTOR IS SATISFIED WITH

THE BUDGET71.8%

PRIVATE SECTOR IS NOT SATISFIED

WITH THE BUDGET28.2%

RAKYAT IS SAT-ISFIED WITH THE

BUDGET77.9%

RAKYAT IS NOT SAT-ISFIED WITH THE

BUDGET22.1%

The three pie charts show the proportions of expressions of satisfaction against expressions of dissatisfaction for the three broad stakeholder groups – public sector, private sector and rakyat.

RAKYAT

PUBLIC SECTOR PRIVATE SECTORCHART 15

CHART 16

CHART 14

14

Stakeholder satisfaction

> Only about a quarter of the analysed coverage contained an overt expression of satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the 2012 Budget.

> Public sector expressions of satisfaction/dissatisfaction appeared most often, with Budget 2012 coverage discussing the extensive allocations for this sector, and commonly citing ministry spokespeople in relation to their relevant areas. The relatively high proportion of expressions of satisfaction/dissatisfaction by the rakyat was found mainly in letters-to-the-editor, or opinion or news articles that contained comments from members of the public.

> Notably, 40% of total analysed letters-to-the-editor and opinion articles were neutral in tone (50.0 rating on the CARMA favourability scale), as a result of expressions of both satisfaction and dissatisfaction in the same media report.

Leading media by language

LANGUAGE MEDIA OUTLETS AUDIENCE VOLUME AVERAGE FAVOURABILITY

ENGLISH

THE STAR ONLINE 674,424 89 53.8

YAHOO! MALAYSIA 60,630 58 53.3

MALAYSIAN INSIDER (ALTERNATIVE NEWS) 456,895 47 48.4

MALAY

UTUSAN MALAYSIA 41,413,162 71 54.1

UTUSAN ONLINE 407,925 58 56.1

HARAKAH DAILY (ALTERNATIVE NEWS) 349,027 20 42.3

CHINESESIN CHEW JIT POH 36,987,648 47 54.5

CHINA PRESS 18,870,540 38 52.6

TAMILMALAYSIA NANBAN 2,760,000 18 53.6

MAKKAI OSAI 52,000 13 54.6

15

TABLE 3

Leading commentators

WHAT MEDIA SAYS“[DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER AND] EDUCATION MINISTER TAN SRI MUHYIDDIN YASSIN SAID THE BUDGET REFLECTED A CARING GOVERNMENT, ADDING THAT IT WAS BASED ON SOUND IDEAS RECOMMENDED BY ECONOMIC EXPERTS. ‘I THINK THIS HAS BEEN THE BEST BUDGET SO FAR, AND IT ADDRESSES THE NEEDS OF ALL LAYERS OF SOCIETY, SUCH AS FARMERS, FISHERMEN, CIVIL SERVANTS, ENTREPRENEURS AND SO ON.’” The Star, 8 October 2011

WHAT MEDIA SAYS“WHAT WE ARE SEEING FROM THE BUDGET IS ONLY ONE WHICH IS INDEBTING OUR CHILDREN, ENTRENCHING OUR STRUCTURAL PROBLEMS AND VERY WEAK EXPENDITURE CONTROLS … OUR DEBT LEVELS WILL ONLY WORSEN IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS AS WE EMBARK ON RECORD LEVELS OF INFRASTRUCTURE SPENDING SUCH AS THE RM53 BILLION KLANG VALLEY MRT PROJECT WHICH IS EXPECTED TO BE FUNDED ENTIRELY ON DEBT’ [DAP MP TONY PUA] SAID IN A STATEMENT” The Malaysian Insider, 7 October 2011

16

DATUK SERI NAJIB TUN RAZAK, MALAYSIA

PRIME MINISTER

DATUK DR. AWANG ADEK HUSSEIN,

DEPUTY FINANCE MIN-ISTER

TAN SRI MUHYIDDIN YASSIN, MALAYSIA

DEPUTY PRIME MIN-ISTER

DATUK SERI LIOW TIONG LAI, MINISTER

OF HEALTH

DATUK MUKHRIZ TUN MAHATHIR, DEPUTY MINISTER OF INTER-NATIONAL TRADE &

INDUSTRY

DATUK SERI ANWAR IBRAHIM, OPPOSITION

LEADER

0

40

80

120

160

20

35

50

65

80

67

15 12 12 11 9

58.055.0 54.2 54.6 54.5

44.4

FAV COMMENT NEU COMMENT UNFAV COMMENT

VO

LUM

E

FAV

OU

RA

BIL

ITY

CHART 17

Social media findings

@HORNBILL UNLEASHED.WORDPRESS.COM, 11 OCTOBER 2011

“IN FACT, ‘ONE-OFF’ PAYMENTS ARE AKIN TO PLACEBOS THAT GIVE SHORT-TERM RELIEFS. RELIEFS THAT ARE PLAYS ON THE MIND RATHER THAN REALISTIC SOLUTIONS TO A MEDICAL AILMENT. AND THIS IS THE ESSENCE OF BUDGET 2012. IT IS A SHORT TERM PLACEBO, MEANT TO GRANT A ‘FEEL GOOD’ EFFECT AMONG A SELECT FEW OF THE POPULACE. JUST ENOUGH TO AFFECT THE 5% VOTE SWING BACK TO THE BARISAN NASIONAL IN ORDER TO RETAIN THE TWO-THIRDS MAJORITY IN PARLIAMENT. HOW ELSE CAN YOU EXPLAIN ITS IRRATIONALITY AND DISREGARD FOR FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY?”

“

FOCUSES ON PERCEPTION, OPINION AND BEHAVIOUR OF THE PUBLIC FROM THE SOCIAL MEDIA

This table shows numerical comparisons of monitored subjects based on the following index: Engagement, Influence, Reach and Sentiment. For definition of the Social Media Metrics, please refer to the Appendix from page 27.

Social media metrics

STORY FOCUS ENGAGEMENT INFLUENCE REACH NET SENTIMENT

OVERALL ECONOMY 54.4% 57% 66.5% -37.6

PRIVATE SECTOR 51.9% 56% 66.6% -37.7

PUBLIC SECTOR 49.4% 56% 60.8% -13.1

THE RAKYAT 49.9% 54% 64.4% -13.8

TABLE 4

> Across the social media posts analysed, discussions about the overall economy were the most engaged (or triggered the highest level of responses). This was partially a result of frequent criticisms of the government’s cash handouts, with suggestions that these measures were implemented in order to win electoral votes rather than to impact on Malaysia’s economic growth.

> Private sector-related discussions also had higher reach. These discussions frequently related to the increase of the Employee Provident Fund (EPF) contribution by

employers, the revision of the My First Home Scheme house price to RM400,000, as well as cash aids and book vouchers for students.

> Revision of the upper limits of a property price under the My First Home Scheme was criticised by the rakyat. These conversations commonly described the housing scheme as “ineffective”, as the government had not increased the minimum wage for private sector employees. The online public stated that the government had shown a lack of consideration by increasing the upper limit of this property price, with some contributors claiming that the

current minimum wage salary is not enough to pay off the mortgage on a RM400,000 property in Malaysia.

18

TOP 10 CHANNELS

> Lowyat.NET Forum – Kopitiam was the leading social media channel, contributing more than 450 online posts on the Malaysian Budget. The online public in this forum frequently discussed the impact of the Budget proposals on Malaysian economic growth. In particular, the cash handouts and benefits for the public sector were commonly described as “election ploys” to win votes from civil servants and low-income groups.

> Discussions also related to impacts on the private sector, such as the effects of the increase of EPF contribution and the revision of house price under the My First Home scheme. This additionally included reviews by economists and local bankers of the “over-promised” Budget and the government’s “overly optimistic” speculation of 2012 GDP growth.

> The discussions from another two popular channels, the Cari Forum – Isu Semasa and DetikDaily.net Forum – Politik Semasa, included a large proportion of criticisms of the increased salaries and bonuses for civil servants. Contributors to these sites also frequently compared the Budget proposals from the opposition party to those from the government.

Top 10 channelsCHART 18

LOWYAT.NET FORUM - KOPITIAM

13.0%

FREE MALAYSIA

TODAY10.5%OTHERS

42.6%

LOWYAT.NET FORUM - KOPITIAM

FREE MALAYSIA TODAY

MALAYSIAN MIRROR BLOG

LOWYAT.NET FORUM - FINANCE, BUSINESS & INVESTMENT

HORNBILL UNLEASHED

CARI CHINESE FORUM - LOCAL POLITICS

CARIGOLD FORUM - ISU SEMASA

DETIKDAILY.NET FORUM - POLITIK SEMASA

LIM KIT SIANG BLOG

CARI FORUM - ISU SEMASA (CURRENT ISSUES)

OTHERS

This chart shows the top 10 social media channels that discussed the topic of housing affordability over the report period.

19

Leading messages in blogs

> A total of 50 of blog posts were also analysed to determine the messages that they conveyed about the Budget.

> The vocal critics of the Budget in the blogosphere included leaders of the opposition party such as Anwar Ibrahim, Lim Kit Siang and Wan Azizah, as well as middle-class citizens who were mainly professionals from the private sector. The most prevalent criticisms from these groups related to the sustainability and inclusivity of the Budget.

> Economists and opposition leaders claimed that the Budget proposals will not lead to the sustainable development of the Malaysian economy, suggesting that the short-term approach of government spending in the forms of subsidies and one-off payments to the people does not solve the problem of rising living costs in the long term. Blogs also included frequent attacks on the government for its “unrealistic” projection of GDP growth and the Budget deficit target for 2012, with criticisms that it was spending beyond its

means and not offering much clarity on the sources of funding for the Budget.

CHART 19

20

IS IN FAVOUR OF THE RAKYAT

IS NOT INCLUSIVE

DOES NOT PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

IS IN FAVOUR OF THE PUBLIC SECTOR

OFFERS CLEAR MEASURES TO ENHANCE WELL-BEING OF THE RAKYAT

IS INCLUSIVE

DOES NOT STIMULATE ECONOMIC GROWTH

STIMULATES ECONOMIC GROWTH

IS NOT TRANSFORMATIVE

IS NOT IN FAVOUR OF THE RAKYAT

IS NOT IN FAVOUR OF THE PRIVATE SECTOR

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

24

8

8

7

7

15

11

7

6

6

6UNFAV FAVVOLUME

Story line: 6 – 14 October 2011

6/10/2011 7/10/2011 8/10/2011 9/10/2011 10/10/2011 11/10/2011 12/10/2011 13/10/2011 14/10/20110

400

800

1200

1600

-100

-50

0

50

100

VOL NET SENTIMENT

VO

LUM

E

NE

T S

EN

TIM

EN

T

10 OCTOBER 2011 TOTAL MENTION: 417

The volume of mentions increased on this day, after the opposition party reviewed the Budget allocation by the government. Engagement from representatives from the government and the opposition party was apparent in discussion across forums and blogs on this day. Conversations suggested that the Budget distribution is inadequate to sustain Malaysia’s global economic growth, with widespread claims that the Budget should cater to all levels of income groups.

7 OCTOBER 2011 TOTAL MENTION: 952

The online discussions spiked when the Budget was announced. Discussions related to Budget allocation, in particularly speculation about the introduction of a GST, and the implementation of the Budget. Much of the online public perceived the 2012 Budget as a ploy by the government to gain electoral votes.

8 OCTOBER 2011 TOTAL MENTION: 691

Conversations continued to suggest that the Budget has failed to address a possible global recession. Budget 2012 was again described as perceived as tool for the government to win electoral votes. Middle-class citizens claimed they had received the least benefits from the Budget, and that finance aids were targeted only at lower income groups.

12 OCTOBER 2011 TOTAL MENTION: 325

Discussions continued to relate to the government’s cash handouts, again with claims that these handouts were allocated in order to win public votes in the upcoming election without consideration of the impact of the Budget on recession and low GDP growth.

CHART 20

This chart shows the volume and sentiment of social media posts over the report period, with highlights of major stories in these conversations.

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22

04/10/11 05/10/11 06/10/11 07/10/11 08/10/11 09/10/11 10/10/11 11/10/11 12/10/11 13/10/11 14/10/110

150

300

450

600

NEW VOICES CUMULATIVE GROWTHV

OLU

ME

04/10/11 05/10/11 06/10/11 07/10/11 08/10/11 09/10/11 10/10/11 11/10/11 12/10/11 13/10/11 14/10/110

25

50

75

100

NEW CHANNELS CUMULATIVE GROWTH

VO

LUM

E

Voice growth & channel growth

The voice growth chart shows the number of unique voices that joined the digital conversation per day. This provides an indication of how many people were talking about the Malaysian Budget in the analysis period. The channel growth chart shows the number of new channels to which the conversation about the Malaysian Budget spread over the period.

Both new voice and new channel growth peaked on 7 October, the day that the Budget was announced. The online conversations spiked with speculations about Budget allocation, particularly relating to the introduction of a GST, and discussions of the implementation of the Malaysia Budget 2012.

CHART 21

CHART 22

CHANNEL GROWTH

VOICE GROWTH

“

“

“

“

Top influencers

13 OCTOBER 2011 01:11COMPARISONS with other countries indicate that we have too many civil servants for the population.  Some 1.3 million civil servants, together with retirees, accounted for nearly two-fifths of the Federal Government’s operating expenditure last year of over RM150bil”. - http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/2068415

11 OCTOBER 2011 18:20But beyond the lofty promises and glossy numbers, the so-called shadow budget, if ever it is implemented, could hurt rather than benefit ordinary Malaysians.”- http://www.malaysianmirror.com/media-buzz-detail/6-nation/55159-putting-pakatans-flawed-budget-under-scrutiny

11 OCTOBER 2011 3:38A government is more than a budget. It is not all money and mega projects and subsidies. The poor will remain poor no matter what multi-billion ringgit transformation projects are rolled out.” - http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/2011/10/11/battle-of-the-budgets/

USER CHANNEL INFLUENCE TOTAL POSTS SENTIMENT URLPolaris Lowyat.NET Forum – Kopitiam 70 27 Negative http://forum.lowyat.net/user/Polaris

USER CHANNEL INFLUENCE TOTAL POSTS SENTIMENT URLHornbill Unleashed Blog 43 27 Negative http://hornbillunleashed.wordpress.com

USER CHANNEL INFLUENCE TOTAL POSTS SENTIMENT URLMalaysian Mirror Blog 43 24 Negative http://www.malaysianmirror.com/index.html

8 OCTOBER 2011 00:00This Budget 2012 measures to put cash in the pockets of voters ahead of a general election expected soon.” - http://hornbillunleashed.wordpress.com/2011/10/08/24226/.

USER CHANNEL INFLUENCE TOTAL POSTS SENTIMENT URLFree Malaysia Today Blog 43 14 Negative http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/

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Below are the most influential people in the period that contributed the posts on the Budget that were most frequently responded to.

Methodology and glossary of terms

APPENDIX

Media Monitors & Brandtology analysis

This Media Analysis report uses both the CARMA® media content analysis methodology and Brandtology’s proprietary Digital Conversation Management System (DCMS) system to analyse news reporting and social media conversations.

This analysis measures both news media content and online conversations to derive actionable data from total media intelligence.

ABOUT MEDIA MONITORS ANALYSIS

Media Monitors uses the CARMA® media content analysis methodology. This methodology involves a systematic approach that turns media content into meaningful data that can be analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively.

ABOUT BRANDTOLOGY ANALYSIS

Brandtology combines technology, processes and trained professionals to deliver accurate and relevant intelligence to clients.

The proprietary opinion mining and sentiment analysis technologies aid organisations in listening to digital conversations across countries in multiple languages.

DISCLAIMER: While Media Monitors and Brandtology endeavour to provide accurate, reliable and complete information, Media Monitors and Brandtology make no representations in relation to the accuracy, reliability or completeness of the information contained in this report. To the extent permitted by law, Media Monitors and Brandtology exclude all conditions, warranties and other obligations in relation to the supply of this report and otherwise limits its liability to the amount paid by the recipient for the report. In no circumstances will Media Monitors and Brandtology be liable to the recipient or to any third party for any consequential loss or damage, including loss of profit, in connection with the supply of this report.

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Average favourability, net sentiment explained

This Media Analysis report uses both the CARMA® media content analysis methodology and Brandtology’s proprietary Digital Conversation Management System (DCMS) system to compare and contrast news and social media conversation.

The CARMA favourability rating and Brandtology’s sentiment score are comparable rating scales to assess articles/conversations prominence and tonality.

The comparison of the two methodologies is interpreted in a Likert 3-point scale (Favourable/Neutral/Unfavourable versus Positive/Neutral/Negative) as shown in this table.

    RATING SCALECOLOUR USED

News

Media

  

Average Favourability

Rating0 to 100 scale

where 50 is neutral

  

Highly favourable 76 to 100

Favourable Moderately favourable 56 to 75

Slightly favourable 51 to 55

Neutral/balanced 50 Neutral

Slightly unfavourable 45 to 49

UnfavourableModerately unfavourable 30 to 44

Highly unfavourable 0 to 30

Social

Media

 Sentiment Scale

-100 to +100 scale

where 0 is neutral

Very Positive + 51 to +100

Positive

Positive +1 to +50

Neutral 0 Neutral

Negative - 1 to -50 Negative

Very Negative -51 to -100

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Best Practice Media Analysis

The Media Monitors’ best-practice media analysis uses a systematic approach to turn media content into meaningful data. This approach analyses media content both quantitatively and qualitatively.

Media Monitors uses the CARMA® media content analysis methodology, which is internationally recognised as one of the leading commercial systems available. CARMA® (Computer Aided Research and Media Analysis) uses advanced technology to quantify media content, and human intelligence to provide qualitative insight and analysis.

Media Monitors uses the CARMA® methodology to qualitatively analyse media coverage by taking into account multiple variables. These include the:

> Placement of media reports (front page or lead item in broadcast media and websites);

> Positioning of organisation discussion (headline, prominent mentions, passing mentions);

> Image (photos, illustrations, charts, cartoons, or the image content of video);

> Topics discussed in the media and their relative importance to the client organisation;

> Messages, both favourable and unfavourable, communicated in media reports;

> Sources quoted (both organisation representatives and other individuals who make relevant comments in the media); and

> Tone of content (extreme language, adjectives and adverbs, metaphors or similes and other figures of speech).

An aggregate score is calculated based on these multiple variables and presented on a 0–100 scale where 50 is neutral. This is an overall rating of the favourability of each media report towards the client organisation (and, if relevant, other organisations or competitors). This aggregate score is called the CARMA® Favourability Rating.The average favourability is the aggregated rating of the media coverage analysed. This can identify the potential impact of media reporting, and can be used to identify trends and establish benchmarks for future data.The criteria for analysis (such as topics and specific key messages) are set up uniquely for each individual client by a team of media analysis experts. These experts bring their industry knowledge to identify

Average Favourability Explained

industry knowledge to identify key issues and attitudes that appear in the media, answer clients’ key questions, and, where relevant, provide recommendations for further action.

The consistency of analysis is ensured in three key ways:

> Most of the variables analysed are objective criteria (such as media name, positioning, sources’ names);

> The somewhat more subjective topics and messages are identified by either exact phrasing or acceptable alternatives, provided to researchers before analysis begins; and

> Media Monitors uses multiple researchers on projects to minimise individual subjectivity.

News media analysis methodology

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Brandtology social media analysis is based on keywords and channels that have been identified by a Social Media Consultant (SMCs). SMCs work closely with clients to determine what needs to be monitored, how best to do this and how to ensure the deliverables and reports meet the clients’ objectives.

Using these keywords and channels, relevant data – such as author, content, date of content and influence of author – is extracted from forums, blogs, news, reviews, Q&As, microblogs, public pages on social networking sites and video sites (comments only) from the internet.

The extracted data is processed by multilingual natural language processors to identify sentiments along a five-point scale (very negative, negative, neutral, positive, and very positive).

Processed data is stored in databases and accessible via our Digital Conversation Management System (DCMS). Analysis based on proprietary algorithms is performed on the data to derive statistics, trends, indexes and charts.

A priority rating is also calculated based on a combination of the site and author influence. 

Social Media Analysts (SMAs) access the data via our in-house ticketing system to ensure the relevancy and accuracy of the data, as well as to train the system to process data more efficiently on behalf of the clients.

Once SMAs have checked the posts for relevancy and sentiment, Social Media Research Analysts (SMRAs) check for trends and gather insights that would be relevant to the client, and produce a report.

Social media analysis methodology & glossary of terms Social Media Metrics Explained

Engagement Index

Quantifies the content creation and response level of a particular subject. This takes into account the number of conversations started, as well as the number of relevant comments and responses to the subject.

Influence Index

Reflects the level of influence of a group of online contributors discussing a certain subject. Influencers are broken down into bands of Very High, High, Moderate, Low and Very Low Influence. Online contributors who are active content posters or garner more responses to their content will command a higher individual influence score. High Influencers have a higher weightage in determining the Influencer Index score. The higher the total Influence Index score, the more influential the group of online contributors discussing the subject are considered to be.

Net Sentiment Measures the ratio of positive to negative posts. A sentiment index value greater than 1 indicates a higher proportion of positive posts.

Reach Measures the width and depth of the subject’s reach across individual channels and unique voices, respectively.

Glossary of TermsCategory This refers to the highest level referencing a

logical grouping. A category may contain one or more subjects.

Channel A source being monitored for posts. Examples are forums, reviews, blogs, etc.

Influence Score

The influence score weights the importance of the author/commenter within his/her channel. The score is within the range of 0 to 100.

Keyword A keyword is used as a search term in the matching process to tag posts to the associated subject.

Mentions Number of mentions or posts online.

Online Public Online public refers to a person or persons discussing, writing, or posting on social media platforms like blogs, forum sites, Q&A sites, review sites or microblogs.

Sentiment Scale

Very Negative, Negative, Neutral, Positive and Very Positive.

Voice An author creating the post or a commenter that made a comment.

Voice Growth The Voice Growth chart shows the number of unique voices per day that have grown during the time period. This provides an indication of a “viral” growth type of view to show how many more people are mentioning the subject.

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