What Did Malaysians Google Most In 2015?
2015 is almost coming to an end and what a year it has been − from local economic and political turmoil, to the international rise of terrorism attacks, but what were most Malaysians keeping themselves up-to-date about on the Internet?
Google, the world’s most popular and used search engine has released its annual most searched terms list, revealing noteworthy trends by country.
Malaysian Digest takes a look at the ‘true colours’ of Malaysians based on the snapshot of their collective interests deemed worth googling for online, this year.
Top Searches of 2015
While there’s no surprise that GST, the Bersih 4 rally and BR1M are among the top 10 most searched terms in Malaysia, coming in at the top spot is the Human Resource Management Information System (HRMIS), according to the annual report released by Google.
HRMIS 2.0 is the flagship application of the federal government, which is specifically designed to facilitate the process of human resource management in public agencies nationwide.
Judging from its position, it is safe to say that this human resource management portal is being utilised by more civil service employees and starting to gain more awareness from Malaysians.
The government’s initiative cash handouts under the 1Malaysia People’s Aid scheme or BR1M was the second most searched for item, followed by age guessing site launched by Microsoft, How-Old.net.
The site left Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak flattered to find his age according to the site was 46 years old, younger than his actual age, 61, which he then shared on his official Facebook page. His post immediately went viral, and this probably explains why Malaysians started googling the site, jumping on the bandwagon to find out their alternative age.
Trending News Searches
While the tragic AirAsia QZ8501 flight bound to Singapore from Surabaya, Indonesia crashed on 28 December 2014, the search continued on to 2015, which led it to be the most trending news this year, among some popular headlines like the Paris attacks, ISIS and the Nepal earthquake.
Paris is of course the most-talked-about city this year, surprisingly not for its fashion week but for the rise in terrorism attacks happening there. The Charlie Hebdo attack in January followed by the recent string of terror attacks across Paris has got Malaysians talking, making it the second most searched trending news.
Following this, notorious terror group ISIS came in at third, followed by Bajet 2016 which was tabled in October, the ill-fated flight MH370, the controversial Bersih rally, and the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit Nepal.
Google-Worthy Figures
The ‘Most Search People’ category, sees a wide variety of interests shown by Malaysians with former Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew topping the chart.
Lee who had overseen the independence of Singapore from Britain and separation from Malaysia, died at the age of 91 on 23 March this year after being hospitalised with severe pneumonia on 5 February 2015.
Following his demise, late Hollywood actor Paul Walker came in second, followed by our very own Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak who grabbed the third spot, after being linked with various administrative issues surrounding the country this year.
Below Najib, is local actress Mia Ahmad or Shamiha Ahmad Baderi, who rose to fame in a drama on TV3 called ‘Hati Perempuan’, followed by slain Attorney-General's Chambers officer, Kevin Morais, and artistic gymnast, Farah Ann Abdul Hadi following an unwarranted incident involving her sports attire.
One person in the top 10 however that surprised us the most is John Cena, the WWE wrestler who is “unexpectedly” expected to appear in all country’s list for that matter just because he can.
Movies That Made It Big
As Hollywood blockbusters topped every movie chart across the globe, the final instalment of the Fast and Furious franchise, Fast and Furious 7, landed on the top spot in Malaysians’ search, followed by the much awaited dinosaur flick, Jurassic World, which came in second place.
In a surprise appearance, made in Malaysia film, Polis Evo joined the ranks of the high-profit Hollywood blockbusters to be placed at number three.
Polis Evo, which stars Shaheizy Sam and Zizan Razak has managed to achieve a whopping RM18 million in the span of 60 days since its released on September 17 according to a statement released by FINAS (The National Film Development Corporation Malaysia). The movie has now been ranked the second highest grossing local movie of all time right behind “The Journey”.
Despite the Malaysian Film Censorship Board calling the film ‘more pornography than a movie’, which resulted in a ban, the might-as-well-be porn slash romance flick of the year, Fifty Shades of Grey comes in behind Polis Evo as most searched movie in Malaysia.
How ironic is it that the movie based on E.L. James’s best-selling novel, which is also banned in Malaysia, still manages to rank top 5 on the list.
Online Shopping Trends
The rise of online shopping in the country is certainly nothing to look pass through. According to Google-TNS Malaysian Connected Consumer 2014 study and in Google’s ‘Our Mobile Planet’ report, one in two adults in Malaysia are savvy smart phone users and as many as 42% of Malaysians have made purchases through their smart phones, which makes Malaysia ranked third in mobile shopping growth in Asia Pacific.
Photo: Lazada Malaysia
Online shopping and selling platform, Lazada, holds the number one spot. And if you are wondering what most Malaysians shop for online, its Chief Executive Officer, Hans-Peter Ressel tells us, “The top three categories are Mobiles & Tablets, Home & Living, and Home Appliances.”
Meanwhile, Lelong, is starting to gain popularity among Malaysians, clinching the second spot. Lelong is known as a premier auction website that serves the community with its styled and functioning similar to the international auction site, eBay.
Favourite online fashion retailer of many Malaysians, Zalora, comes in third place, followed by Groupon which offers killer deals, and a shift in the fashion market is obvious as modest and elegant hijab fashion brand, Zawara wraps up the top 5 list.
According to one of the most frequently asked questions on the Google Trends Page, the trending searches list by the countries only represent the search terms that have seen the most significant increase in search traffic rather than representing Internet search terms that have been used most often.
Since Google is where most Malaysians turn to for information, it is expected that the lists shown reflect the zeitgeist in the country. So there you have it, from major events, famous people and other top trends, we wonder what interesting top searches will be of the nation’s interest next, in 2016.
- Malaysian Digest
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