Fact-check: Both sides right in battle of Kedah's export stats

As state elections draw closer, the performance of state chief executives is under the spotlight and becomes fodder for political campaigning.

One of the issues under the spotlight is the states' export performance.

On TikTok, Kedah's administration under caretaker menteri besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor is praised for being the only state among the top five exporters to have grown its exports.

"This is why they want to seize Kedah. They probably want to claim credit for this two years later," the caption on the video, now also circulating on other social media platforms, read.

The background image, showing the export statistics for April, appears to be a digital poster produced by Urus Setia Penerangan Darul Aman, the state's information arm.

In response, Sanusi's critics cite another set of statistics, showing Kedah is not in the list of top five states which has the most exports.

Sanusi's backers cite April data, critics cite May data

Checks by Malaysiakini found that both sides are sharing accurate statistics but have chosen data which only suits the narrative they are peddling.

Sanusi supporters were citing the April figures, which indeed showed Kedah was ranked fifth and had grown its exports by 2.1 percent year-on-year.

Among the top five performing states, it was the only state that grew its exports compared to April 2022. The other four states - Penang, Johor, Selangor and Sarawak - experienced a year-on-year contraction in exports.

The data also showed that besides Kedah, Negeri Sembilan was another state whose exports grew year-on-year.

On the flip slide, Sanusi's critics were citing the May statistics, which showed that Kedah did not place in the list of top five exporters.

In May, Penang maintained its top position on the exports list, despite continuing to experience a month-on-month contraction.

Kedah, meanwhile, grew its exports by RM5.4 billion year-on-year but was unable to beat the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur for the fifth spot.

To note, both sides do state the months from which the figures were cited.

The May statistics, released June 28, are the latest to be released by the DOSM, and show Malaysia experiencing an overall contraction of exports year-on-year.

Most states, including Kedah, expanded their exports between 2021 and 2022.

Sanusi was sworn in as Kedah menteri besar in May 2020.

Malaysiakini is part of the Malaysian fact-checking alliance JomCheck.

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