A survey of Twitter users has revealed that just shy of two percent of those polled blame the Barisan Nasional (BN), UMNO or Prime Minister Najib Razak for the recent sodomy conviction and prison sentence handed down to Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.
The poll, conducted by research firm Politweet who released the results today, also showed 37% pf surveyed Malaysian Twitter users rejected the decision of the Federal Court, which dismissed Anwar’s appeal to overturn the sodomy conviction on him last Tuesday. 17% accepted the apex court’s decision.
32%, or nearly one third of those polled, had no clear opinion on the court ruling, saying they could not comment on a crime they did not witness themselves, among other reasons.
“Less than 2 per cent of the population directly blamed the Prime Minister, Umno or Barisan Nasional. The verdict did not seem to trigger a strong negative response towards these parties,” Politweet said in its statement, as quoted by The Malay Mail Online.
The firm surveyed a sample of 840 Twitter users aged between 18 and 35 years old, based on their tweets from February 10 to February 11. Most of the tweets canvassed were composed in Bahasa Malaysia.
The research firm further said that the Malaysian Twitterverse’s rejection of the verdict was borne more out of popular disbelief that Anwar, who is 67 now, could have forcibly sodomised his former aide Saiful Bukhari, who is now 30, rather than a belief in a political conspiracy to discredit and imprison the de facto PKR leader.
Those who agreed with the Federal Court decisions cited their support for the Malaysian legal process, belief in the validity of the evidence presented in court, or their belief that Anwar is a homosexual.
“Among Anwar Ibrahim’s supporters, sadness was the most common response to the verdict followed by disbelief,” said Politweet.
“Outrage (based on tone of voice) was not commonly expressed and was largely directed at Saiful Bukhari and to a lesser extent, the judiciary,” the research firm added.
The firm also noted that Twitter users were put off by PKR and Pakatan Rakyat’s “inconsistent” stand on judicial rulings, and some were offended by PR’s “Rakyat Hakim Negara” campaign in support of Anwar’s case.
“They believed it is not the people’s place to question the decisions of the courts or pretend to be legal experts,” the firm said.
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