Malaysia Chronicle | BANGI, 25-May-2012 – A survey among voters in Peninsula Malaysia found that nearly all – 92% of voters want the electoral roll to be cleaned up before elections are held.
This sentiment comes on the back of the survey which found only 44% of the respondents expressed confidence that the election process in Malaysia was free from irregularity and abuse; while 49% of the respondents were not confident.
In the same survey, 48% of the respondents agreed that the electoral list was inaccurate and “embedded with doubtful voters such as foreigners, people who were transferred without their knowledge or people with multiple identities”. Only 39% of the respondents disagreed with the statement, i.e. believing the electoral roll was accurate.
52% of the respondents also agreed that election laws should be amended to allow the electoral roll to be challenged in the courts. At the same time, only 37% of the respondents trusted the postal voting system as being transparent and free from political influence and 51% distrusted.
Majority of Peninsular Malaysia voters also support Sabah RCI The poll also asked about Peninsula Malaysia voters view on the Royal Commission Inquiry for the illegal immigrants’ problem in Sabah. An overwhelming number (81%) of the respondents also agreed to the setting up of the RCI.
Majority of voters do not understand BERSIH demands
The poll was concluded a day before the BERSIH 3.0 rally and the survey also found that only 39% of the respondents understood the key demands of the electoral reform pressure group for free and fair election in Malaysia.
When asked about their trust in the Parliament Select Committee (PSC) on electoral reform, only 34% of the respondents believed it was a sincere effort to reform while 43% of the respondents believed it was an attempt to cover up or divert public attention.
The survey was carried out by Merdeka Center for Opinion Research between 14th and 26th April 2012 to gauge Peninsula Malaysia voters’ perception of current developments.
1,019 registered voters comprising 59% Malay, 32% Chinese and 9 % Indian respondents which was reflective of electoral profile of Peninsula Malaysia were polled.
Respondents were selected on the basis of random stratified sampling along ethnicity, gender and parliament constituency. The poll was conducted via telephone to fixed and mobile line subscribers. The margin of error of the poll is ±3.07%.
Merdeka Center for Opinion Research was formally established in 2001 as an independent organization focused on public opinion research and socio-economic analysis.