PETALING JAYA: The ceramah tents are up and the stage is set, but the seats are cold and empty.
Where are the crowds?
Political strategists have been scratching their heads ever since the election campaign kicked off on Saturday.
Social media has been awash with videos and images showing empty chairs at ceramah held by Barisan Nasional, Pakatan Harapan and their rival Perikatan Nasional.
So far, their “statement of defence” is that the days of massive audiences are over.
Instead, they believe that voters today prefer a more personal approach without the fuss and the noise.
A short Facebook video clip posted by Sahabat Anwar Ibrahim yesterday, under the heading “Ceramah Azmin Ali Takda Orang” (Azmin Ali’s ceramah had no audience), showed Perikatan’s Hulu Kelang candidate Datuk Seri Azmin Ali speaking under a canopy by the roadside with only a few people gathered around.
The Perikatan information chief, when contacted, said he had reached out to the people and that the event was not meant to be a “mega ceramah”.
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“What is more effective is to try to engage personally with people, such as going on house-to-house visits,” he said.
A video on Twitter posted on July 31 by Rusty Blade @Pisau Karat showed a Perikatan ceramah with many empty chairs for Sungai Tua candidate Muhammad Hanif Jamaluddin, who is locked in a three-cornered fight with caretaker Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari and Independent candidate Suman Gopal.
When contacted, Hanif said the video was recorded before the event had started. He then showed pictures of those same chairs that were occupied much later that night, claiming that about 5,000 people turned up.
On Saturday night, pictures and photos circulated on social media showing empty red plastic chairs during a Pakatan ceramah hosted by caretaker Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow.
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According to Chow, many people preferred to keep tabs on ceramah via social media instead of being physically present at such talks.
Penang DAP election director and Paya Terubong candidate for Pakatan, Wong Hon Wai, said the party had always practised a “mixed” type of campaigning.
“Walkabouts provide a personal touch; public ceramah can address state and national issues.
“Generally, people attend ceramah to get more information and to be entertained by the... speeches.
“People are well informed from traditional media and social media as well,” he added.
Furthermore, Wong said these are early days of the campaign cycle.
“There will be a Jelajah Madani rally in the Malay heartland. We expect a big crowd as the political parties compete to get support from the Malay ground,” he said.
He added that a ceramah was scheduled for Aug 5 featuring Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his Cabinet ministers in Ayer Itam, Penang.
Even prior to last Saturday’s nomination day, a video surfaced showing empty chairs at a Perikatan event in Kota Anggerik on July 25.
Bersatu’s Machang MP Wan Ahmad Fahysal Wan Ahmad Kamal, who was seated on stage at the Kota Anggerik function, said that there were few attendees as many people had gone to another Perikatan event.
“We are not that worried about crowd attendance as we are still getting a sizeable number of audience members compared with our opponents,” he claimed.
Negri Sembilan Umno chief Datuk Seri Jalaluddin Alias, who is the Pertang candidate, said that Barisan has reserved the big stage for bigwigs from outstation who come to the state to help in the campaign.
“As for local leaders and candidates, we are focusing on the door-to-door approach or house-to-house visits as we find that we can engage voters more effectively this way.
“We can explain better our manifesto and address their worries,” said Jalaluddin.
