Voters are not entirely swayed by "poster boy" strategy, says pundit

SHAH ALAM - Political coalitions naming their prime minister candidate or poster boy will not necessarily raise the public’s confidence in choosing any parties for the 15th General Election (GE15).

Political analyst from Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Mujibu Abd Muis said this was seen when Perikatan Nasional (PN) presented “Abah” or its Chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in the Melaka and Johor state elections but the effect was unsubstantial.

Mujibu also raised the question of people accepting Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as PH’s poster boy when the opposition leader had failed in previous elections.

“Every political party should not depend on their poster boy without presenting a strong narrative and a good offer to the people.

“Yes, it is true that naming a poster boy can add value to political parties but voters will likely look at what they have to offer as a whole.

“And how they can raise confidence from the perspective of experience, capability and the team that is offered. This will be the consideration for the voters and not just based solely on poster boys,’’ he said.

Mujibu however acknowledged that announcing a poster boy will determine the direction of each political party.

“If we look at what BN had to offer and put Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob forward, that is Umno’s way of breaking from tradition where the prime minister is also the party president.

“However, what I observe is that even with the agreement on the poster boy, in the context of Umno's internal politics, it is not unanimously agreed,’’ he said.

For PN naming Muhyiddin and PH putting forward Anwar as their respective prime minister candidate, this was expected, he said.