2016-2020

channelnewsasia.com | 02-Sept-2020 – KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has been rated highly by voters, according to a poll published on Wednesday (Sep 2), on his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and greater representation of the ethnic Malay majority in his administration.

Muhyiddin received a 69 per cent approval rating in a survey run by independent pollster Merdeka Center, six months after taking office in March following a power struggle that saw the collapse of the previous multi-ethnic government led by Mahathir Mohamad.

Survey respondents also gave a 93 per cent approval rating for the government’s handling of COVID-19 and rated it highly for helping the needy and managing the economy during the coronavirus-induced crisis.

Malaysia has reported just over 9,300 coronavirus infections.

In the last popularity poll published by Merdeka Center in April last year, less than half of Malaysians approved of then-premier Mahathir as concerns over rising costs and racial issues plagued his administration.

Merdeka Center Executive Director Ibrahim Suffian said Malay voters indicated a strong preference for the administration’s management of the pandemic and the ensuing economic fallout and for bringing together long-feuding Malay political parties.

“The results also indicate a significant swing of support of Malay voters towards a unified Malay political coalition,” Ibrahim said in a statement.

Ethnic Malays account for some 60 per cent of Malaysia’s population of about 32 million, with the rest comprised mostly of ethnic Chinese and ethnic Indian minorities.

Muhyiddin, who leads the Malay-based Bersatu party, secured the premiership backed by two of the largest parties representing Malay interests – the scandal-tainted former ruling party, United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) and the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party.

But he holds a razor-thin majority in parliament.

In July, UMNO, which forms the largest bloc in Muhyiddin’s administration, withdrew from the prime minister’s political alliance, though the party said it would continue to support the government in parliament.

The latest Merdeka Centre survey saw most respondents approving of Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s performance.

He garnered a 69 percent approval rating.

The survey also suggested that Perikatan Nasional (PN) was the best received political party or coalition – better than Muafakat Nasional or BN.

The majority of Malay respondents also supported Umno and PAS’ participation in PN.

Merdeka Centre also noted that 57 percent of Malay respondents agreed with the verdict.

The survey – conducted between July 15 and Aug 10 – involved 3,415 respondents who were selected through random sampling throughout the country to reflect Malaysia’s electorate.

It is apparent from Merdeka Centre’s data that it conducts voter perception surveys monthly, but only conducts periodical public releases. The last release was dated July 26, 2019.

Muhyiddin sits comfortably

Merdeka Centre said the survey results showed Muhyiddin sat in “comfortable and positive” territory.

This was despite rhetoric from opposition parties branding him as a “traitor” who worked with “kleptocrats” to depose a democratically-elected government in late February.

Merdeka Centre noted that only 33 percent of Chinese respondents viewed Muhyiddin positively while he enjoyed overwhelming support from the bumiputera community.

Muhyiddin also had the support of younger respondents, receiving more than 70 percent approval from respondents aged between 21 and 40.

In terms of household income, Muhyiddin was viewed very positively by those with a household income of RM3,999 or less. The level of approval reduces as household income increases.

Muhyiddin also received the support of 91 percent of the civil servants or those in GLCs.

When Merdeka Centre last released its survey findings in July 2019, then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad primarily had the support of older voters. He only had the support of 57 percent of those in civil service or GLCs. He also enjoyed more support from those with household incomes of RM4,000 and above.

PN far more popular than Pakatan Harapan

On political parties or coalitions, the new PN appeared to be the most popular political entity among respondents and was viewed positively by 51 percent of the electorate.

This was followed by BN (40 percent), PAS (39 percent), Muafakat (37 percent), Bersatu (28 percent) and Harapan (25 percent).

bloomberg.com | 20-July-2019 – The approval rating for Malaysia’s Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad rose to the highest since September, the Malaysian Insight news website reported, citing pollster Merdeka Center.

There is a widening rift among the senior leadership of the People’s Justice Party, a member of the Pakatan Harapan alliance. The party’s leader Anwar Ibrahim has called on his deputy, Minister of Economy Affairs Azmin Ali, to resign if sex videos allegedly featuring him are proven to be true. Police on Thursday said they couldn’t confirm if it was.

malaysiakini.com | 20-July-2019 – Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s approval rating has steadily improved, after hitting an all-time low of 46 percent in March this year.

His improved approval rating comes on the back of Malay and Chinese voters who have once again warmed up to the Langkawi MP after a consistent decline in support until March, according to the survey reported by The Malaysian Insight.

Satisfaction towards Mahathir among Malay voters was at 50 percent as of June, a 16 percent improvement from March.

Likewise, satisfaction among Chinese voters improved by 16 percent to 77 percent within the same period.

However, satisfaction among Indian voters declined six percent from 80 percent in March to 74 percent in June.

Harapan’s approval rating on a downtrend

Meanwhile, Pakatan Harapan’s approval rating stood at 41 percent in May, and remained the same in June.

There is no data point between January to April, but it has been on a downtrend since the May 2018 general election.

Since December last year, the satisfaction level towards Harapan had declined by eight percent among Malay voters to 32 percent in June this year.

Likewise, satisfaction among Chinese voters declined by 14 percent to 51 percent, while among Indian voters, it declined by 18 percent to 59 percent in the same period.

Mahathir’s improved approval rating appeared to have helped mitigate Harapan’s declining popularity as more people think the country is moving in the right direction.

More believe country moving in right direction

As of June, 40 percent of voters thought the country is moving in the right direction, an improvement of six percent from March.

Voters who think the country is moving in the wrong direction also declined from 46 percent to 38 percent in the same period.

Broken along racial lines, 31 percent of Malay voters believed the country was moving in the right direction as of June, compared to 24 percent in March.

Likewise, 53 percent of Chinese believed the country was moving in the right direction, compared to 43 percent in the same period.

The top three reasons cited for the improved sentiment towards the government are good administration (18 percent), fight against corruption (15 percent) and improving the economy (10 percent).

Conversely, the top three reasons cited by those who believe the country was headed in the wrong direction are economic concerns (32 percent), leadership (12 percent) and weak administration (12 percent).

The survey of 961 respondents was conducted between June 28 to July 1.

SANDAKAN POLLS | Malaysians may feel pessimistic about the country’s economic performance, but a “clean” Pakatan Harapan administration will eventually turn things around, assures Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng.

Referring to the latest government approval ratingsreleased by pollster Merdeka Center, Lim said it was a good reminder for Harapan to work hard to undo problems left by their predecessors…

Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin said although the Pakatan Harapan administration’s approval rating had taken a hit, voters are now less worried about corruption.

“In various surveys conducted after Harapan formed the federal government, corruption – which was once a cancer that stunted Malaysia’s development – is no longer the main issue concerning the public.

“We should be proud that Malaysia does not bear the stigma of a kleptocracy like before,” she said in a statement.

Last week, Merdeka Center released its latest survey results which suggested that Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his administration’s approval rating was currently 46 percent and 39 percent respectively.

Historically, Merdeka Center surveys tend to show that the strength of the economy is the main concern on the minds of voters.

Of the respondents who believed that the country was moving in the wrong direction, corruption was not cited as a major concern.

Conversely, of the respondents who believed the country was moving in the right direction, fighting corruption was cited as a reason for this.

However, Zuraida, who is also PKR vice-president, acknowledged that there was unhappiness over the present administration, but stressed that a lot of the problems faced by the country today were legacy problems left by the previous administration.

“Certainly, it will take time to resolve the problems, especially with the economy,” she said.

She believed that Malaysia, under Mahathir’s helm, was on the right course and urged the public to continue working with the federal government to develop the country.

The steep fall in the Pakatan Harapan goverment’s approval rating is not definitive and should instead spur the ruling coalition to improve.

“Merdeka Center’s survey is an opinion (survey) which helps with giving input. We need to look at our weaknesses…

PETALING JAYA: Policy analyst Wan Saiful Wan Jan of PPBM has urged government leaders to give priority to the welfare of the people and alleviate their hardship. The common folk, who voted for a change in government last year, must also be assisted, he said.

“This includes the small time contractors and rural entrepreneurs, as well as the activists,” he said today in a statement responding to remarks by PKR president Anwar Ibrahim about a Malay backlash to the new government led by Pakatan Harapan.

Anwar said the backlash arose because Pakatan Harapan had “succumbed too much to pressure from the urban elite and civil society”. He had not heard the government address poverty and inequality.

Yesterday, the polling firm Merdeka Center released results of a survey which showed that only 39% of Malaysians gave a positive rating to the PH government, less than two weeks before it marks its first year in power.

Wan Saiful reminded the ruling coalition that a majority of Malaysians lived outside the “Bangsar bubble” a term he used last year to describe the upper-middle-class urban areas, whose residents he said tended to champion for human rights and judicial reform among others.

However, “it is their views and support (from those outside the Bangsar bubble) that will determine the current government’s popularity.”

The Merdeka Center survey indicated that perceptions over the economy, governance and concerns among Malays, as well as treatment of the races in Malaysia, were among factors that could have contributed to the decline in support from the people.

theborneopost.com | KUCHING, 08-May-2018 : The Barisan Nasional (BN) is poised to retain power despite popular vote decline, said independent research group Merdeka Center.

In a press statement issued in Bangi today, the center said they carried out a last-minute survey for Malaysia’s historic 14th general election (GE14) as the nation goes to the polls tomorrow.

“A survey carried among registered voters in Peninsular Malaysia between April 28 until noon on May 8 found that ruling coalition Barisan Nasional is poised to retain federal power in what is seen as one of the most contested elections ever in the country’s political history. Cost of living and governance, top voters’ concern,” the center said.

This has been an election propelled by a voter revolt over the GST as well as concerns over rising cost of living, running parallel alongside perceived governance shortfalls.

The top three issues considered most important to the voters were economic concerns at 43 per cent followed by good governance (corruption) issues at 21 per cent and weakness of leadership at 8 per cent.

Malay voters expressed the highest concern about economic issues (46 per cent) and followed by good governance issue (17 per cent).

Chinese voters placed equal emphasis on economic (37 per cent) and corruption issues (35 per cent).

Meanwhile Indian voters also held high levels of concern over economic issues (43 per cent) and placed the need for better treatment towards the Indian community at 15 per cent.

Younger voters, those below 40 years old, placed more emphasis on matters related to good governance and leadership, while voters over 40 years expressed slightly higher on concerns over communal rights (11 per cent).

Aside from voters’ top-of-mind issues, the survey also asked about latent factors underpinning their political choices.

Following up on earlier surveys which sought to work out the importance voters attached to factors underpinning Malaysian politics, the survey detected a significant shift to factors such as ethnic rights, which saw a perceptible decline, while desire for better economic performance increased.