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As Najib’s ratings drop, so does the judiciary’s, pollster finds
30-Oct--2014, The Malaysian Insider

A picture of the Kuala Lumpur Federal Court in Putrajaya. The Merdeka Center revealed that 48% of its respondents did not feel confident about the country's judicial system. – The Malaysian Insider pic, October 30, 2014.

Nearly half of Malaysians polled displayed a lack of faith in the country's judicial system, the Merdeka Center found.

The survey was done just before Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's appeal in the Federal Court to overturn his sodomy conviction began.

Of the 1,005 respondents polled between October 11 and 26, 48% said they did not feel confident about the country's judicial system.

Only 38% of the respondents said they felt positive towards the judiciary.

"It should be noted that these sentiments were more prevalent among younger voters where a majority of those under 40 years old reported lack of confidence in the judiciary," independent pollster Merdeka Center said in a statement today.

Of the 1,005 respondents surveyed, 61% of them were Malays, 30% Chinese and 9% Indians.

The survey said Chinese respondents recorded the highest lack of confidence with the judiciary at a whopping 70%.

Malay respondents were the most positive towards the judiciary, with 48% of them expressing confidence as opposed to 36% who answered in the negative.

Among Indian respondents, 49% said they lacked confidence while 37% were positive towards the judiciary.

The survey also revealed a urban-rural and income divide, with most of those living in urban areas and earning household incomes of more than RM3,000 stating a lack of confidence in the judiciary.

Rural-based respondents, however, as well as those in the lower-income bracket, said the opposite.

Malaysia's judicial system has been criticised as biased, especially against opposition politicians.

The 1998 and 2008 sodomy charges against Anwar, the opposition leader, have given fodder to government critics to support this claim.

Anwar is current appealing his conviction on the second charge at the Federal Court.

Critics also accused the Malaysian judiciary of bias in the use of draconian laws, such as the Internal Security Act, against opposition politicians. – October 30, 2014.