WEST PORT
PETALING JAYA: Penangites have the highest level of interest nationwide when it comes to looking up Google for more information about tariffs.
Figures from Google Trends show that the state, a major hub for Malaysia’s electrical and electronics (E&E) industry and semiconductor manufacturing, ranks highest in the country for search popularity on the topic of tariffs.
Penang recorded a score of 100 from April 2 to April 11.
Kuala Lumpur came second with a score of 77, followed by Selangor (76), Putrajaya (65) and Johor (51).
Google Trends calculates search interest on specific topics by location and over time, on a scale from 0 to 100.
A score of 100 means the location has the most popularity as a fraction of total searches in that location.
Khazanah Research Institute’s deputy director of research Yin Shao Loong said it was possible that Google searches for tariffs were most popular in Penang as the state is a major semiconductor and E&E industry player.
“It certainly could be due to the high number of American multinational corporations and suppliers in Penang,” he said.
Electrical and electronic goods comprise the bulk of Malaysia’s exports to the US, with semiconductors making up the largest share.
On April 2, US president Donald Trump announced reciprocal tariffs for countries and territories worldwide, including Malaysia, which was hit with a 24% tariff.
“Semiconductor tariffs have yet to be announced, but other E&E industries are affected,” said Yin.
Malaysia’s semiconductors are currently exempt from the sweeping tariffs, but US officials have said that measures on semiconductors are coming.
Malaysia meanwhile imposes zero tariffs on US semiconductors.
On April 10, Trump announced a 90-day pause for countries hit by higher US tariffs.
The US president authorised a universal lowered reciprocal tariff of 10% as negotiations continued, but increased tariffs on goods from China to 145%.
Merdeka Center executive director Ibrahim Suffian said the high interest shown for tariff searches on Google in other states such as Selangor and Johor was also significant.
"These (Selangor, Johor) are also economic hubs of the country," said Ibrahim.
Globally, Singapore leads Google search interest on tariffs with a score of 100, followed by Canada (66), the US (57), Ireland (53), and Australia (35).
Malaysia is ranked 11th with a score of 16.
According to Google Trends, people who searched for tariffs also looked up a variety of related topics.
Among the fastest rising in popularity worldwide were queries related to Heard and McDonald Islands, an Australian external territory that boasts colonies of penguins but no human inhabitants.
The islands were hit with a 10% tariff.
