In The News

The Malaysian Insider | KUALA LUMPUR, 14-July-2010 — A five per cent voter swing in Election 2008 saw Pakatan Rakyat (PR) take charge of five state governments in peninsular Malaysia, but the Barisan Nasional’s (BN) rivals in Sarawak will need four times that to unseat the ruling front.

Political analyst Faizal Hazis said today that PR’s dream of taking over Putrajaya by capturing Sarawak in the coming state polls, widely expected to be held soon, is “ridiculous”.

Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Taib Mahmud has been ruling the state under the BN banner for the past 29 years.

The Opposition bloc in Malaysia’s largest state only has eight out of 71 seats in the Sarawak Legislative Assembly.

The DAP holds the lion’s share with six seats, with one seat each belonging to PKR and Sarawak National Party (Snap).

“To change the state government, it will need at least a 20 per cent voter swing…which equals 36 seats,” the Universiti Sarawak (Unimas) department head of political and international relations told reporters here today.

The lecturer recently teamed up with the independent Merdeka Center to present an analysis of voting behaviour in Sarawak.

In his paper titled “Between Continuity and Change”, Faisal noted there were 12 “marginal seats” or those that showed a greater likelihood of falling to PR.

With the eight already in PR’s hands, the new total would “still not be enough to deny the ruling party a two-thirds majority’ in the state legislative assembly, he said.

While Sarawak’s politics is not racially-driven, Faisal said the electorate had generally voted along party lines.

The voters, especially the Bumiputera, want a party that can fulfil their development needs.

“Generally, this means Barisan Nasional,” he said, adding that the ruling front’s traditional strategy of dishing out development projects will likely remain an effective tool in ensuring it wins substantial votes.

Certain short-term factors could still tip the scales in PR’s favour, Faisal said, pointing to the Bersih and Hindraf rallies in West Malaysia and more recently, the DAP’s “Allah” campaign in the Sibu by-election two months ago as examples.

But it may not be enough, as voters in Sarawak still look at the candidate’s credentials in elections.

A recent public opinion survey by the Merdeka Center showed 64 per cent of the electorate firmly backing the BN, because they believed the ruling coalition was capable of delivering reforms.

But both Faisal and the Merdeka Center admitted the survey was not definitive.

“The poll did not ask Sarawakians whether they wanted Taib Mahmud to be CM though,” Faisal quipped.

The Malaysian Insider | KUALA LUMPUR, 14-July-2010 – A public opinion poll has predicted Sarawak Barisan Nasional (BN) will win big in state polls expected soon, suggesting a recent DAP win in the Sibu by-election two months ago did not indicate waning support for Chief Minister Tan Sri Taib Mahmud’s 29 year rule.

Sixty-four per cent out of 518 respondents polled by the independent Merdeka Center backed BN for the next state elections, a one per cent increase from the last elections in Sarawak in 2006.

However, several factors could still swing the vote in favour of the Opposition, said the head of politics and international relations in Universiti Sarawak’s (Unimas) social science faculty.

In his paper titled “Between Continuity and Change”, Unimas’s Dr Faisal Hazis, who worked with the Merdeka Center to provide an analysis of the survey results, noted the growing popularity of the alternative media among the urban electorate and an increased appetite to see a higher level of democratic practice in government as key forces that could tilt the balance.

“If the local opposition parties can get their act together to form a unified coalition and exploit the grievances and desire for change, the coming state elections could be a feisty affair,” he briefed reporters here today.

Faisal pointed out that while the Chinese community felt they were being sidelined by the ruling front, the Bumiputera voters in Sarawak strongly identified with the BN.

A high 65.6 per cent of respondents were confident they could keep their jobs for the next year while 59.2 per cent were upbeat about the country’s future, even though almost half of those polled expressed a general dissatisfaction with the economy.

More than two thirds of those polled viewed BN in a positive light.

While they were not blind to the coalition’s shortcomings — 68 per cent cited weak political leadership, intra-party rivalry (66 per cent), and money politics (61.4 per cent) — they also generally believed BN was capable of change.

Notably, 65.9 per cent wanted the government to dissolve the affirmative action policy, which is geared at protecting Malay/ Bumiputera interest.

More than half of the respondents did not believe that government aid would reach the needy with 37.1 per cent saying government programmes only benefited the rich.

Close to half said the government was not careful in spending public money and nearly three quarters cited corruption as a major problem in the country.

In contrast, only 11.2 per cent strongly backed the Opposition, with 36 per cent support from the Chinese community.

However, about one-third of the respondents appeared to be open to voting for the Opposition.

About a third of the respondents attributed their poor perception of the Opposition to the lack of unity among the different parties, while 26.6 per cent said the BN rival lacked ideas on economic development.

But Dr Faisal noted that 21.1 per cent of the respondents saw PKR de facto chief Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s leadership in a positive light.

He put it down to the growing popularity of the alternative media — namely the Internet and partisan newspapers — among a significant portion of the electorate (almost 20 per cent) in the more urban seats in the state, especially from the Dayak professionals; as well as scepticism and mistrust of the BN from some quarters.

In his analysis, Dr Faisal said the survey results disproved the myth that Sarawakian voters were parochial in their approach to politics, but showed instead that the local electorate took a healthy interest in national issues.

While the odds were heavily stacked against the Opposition, he did not discount the possibility of a sudden swing in their favour, noting the DAP’s successful campaign leading up to the May by-election.

“Sarawak is more accommodating [on racial and religious issues] than in the Peninsula,” he said, referring to how the DAP had played up the “Allah” dispute ongoing in West Malaysia by asking the locals to “help us teach Peninsula to be more accommodating”.

If the Opposition could exploit such current issues again when the state elections come around, the results “would not be as what the polls show”.

If not, the Opposition may have to wait for at least another “one or two decades” to break the BN’s stranglehold on Malaysia’s largest state, said Dr Faisal.

Bernama Online | KUALA LUMPUR, 13-July-2010 — The Sibu by-election held last May raised some doubts as to Barisan Nasional’s grip over Sarawak but recent poll conducted by an independent body has proved otherwise.

According to the survey by the Merdeka Center, the findings of which were released Tuesday, most Sarawakians still support the BN.

“A total of 64.1 percent of the respondents threw their support behind the BN, an increase of 1.1 percent over the popular votes received by the ruling party in the 2006 state election,” said Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) lecturer Faisal S. Hazis, who had conducted the survey titled “Between Continuity and Change: An Analysis of Voting Behavior in Sarawak 2010” for Merdeka Center.

Speaking at a media briefing here, Faisal said the survey conducted from January to April involved 518 respondents in Sarawak aimed at assessing their perception towards both the Barisan Nasional (BN) and opposition parties.

“In terms of perception towards BN, between 70 per cent to 80 per cent of those surveyed said they had positive perception of the BN’s policies and actions.

However, he said respondents pointed out several shortcomings in the BN, such as internal rivalry and money politics.

“A total of 65.9 percent wanted the BN to take affirmative action (to resolve the problems) while 74 percent of them believed that corruption was a major problem in the country,” he said.

Faisal said only 11.2 per cent of the respondents admitted that they were willing to vote for the opposition.

There were also negative impressions towards the opposition by respondents such as lack of unity, lack of ideas on economic development, corruption (11.4 per cent), weakness in administration (7.5 per cent), and weak leadership (4.8 per cent).

On factors influencing voting behavior in Sarawak, Faisal said 36.9 per cent of the respondents chose contesting parties as the main factor, particularly the ones that could bring about development to the state.

“The other factors were issues related to the voters while choice of candidates remained as the third most important factor,” he said.

Faisal also said it remained an uphill task for the opposition to take over the state as they needed to capture a minimum of 36 out of the 71 seats in the state.

“But there are only 12 marginal seats,” he added.

At present, the opposition only holds nine state seats in Sarawak, with DAP (6), PKR (1) and Independent (2).

— BERNAMA

The Malaysian Insider | KUALA LUMPUR, 09-July-2010 — A disconnect between the government and the public has resulted in a majority of Malaysians feeling powerless in bringing about change in the country, a new poll of voters has found.

A recent survey by the independent Merdeka Center showed that the majority of Malaysians felt that they were incapable of bringing positive reforms to the country.

According to the survey conducted from January to April this year, 66 per cent of some 3,000 respondents believed that they had no say over issues raised in the survey.

Issues touched on by the survey included those such as national unity, integrity, democratic participation, and affirmative action.

The outcome of the survey suggests that the Najib administration has yet to effectively convince the public on its key policies.

Since taking over the government in April last year, Datuk Seri Najib Razak has laid down various ambitious reform plans including the National Key Results Areas (NKRA), which aims to, among other targets, eradicate corruption and forge national unity.

Merdeka Center director Ibrahim Suffian speculated that the sense of being powerless could be the result of government’s failure to conduct programmes that reflect the wishes of the public.

“A lot of things that the government have been doing might not reflect what the people want,” Ibrahim told The Malaysian Insider.

“Despite being able to vote, the people do not see how they can exert influence on the leadership. In many places, they still feel disconnected from the leaders,” he added.

Ibrahim said the survey reflected the wishes for greater public consultation on public policy formulation.

The poll outcome also showed that the majority of Malaysians were sceptical about government spending ,with 53 per cent of respondents believing that public funds were not being spent prudently.

About 63 per cent of the respondents also believed that government assistance would not reach the needy.

The survey also revealed that 72 per cent of youths aged 19 to 24 were not interested in politics, while only 52 per cent of respondents above 50 took an interest.

However, democracy was not an issue that resonated among Malaysians, with just 27 per cent of the respondents listing “making the country more democratic” as the most important change they wanted to see in the country.

Improving the education system was the second most important issue, with 20 per cent of the respondents wishing for it to become world class.

The Malaysian Insider | KUALA LUMPUR, 09-July-2010 — Malays are split over whether affirmative action should continue and if they actually benefit enough from government programmes, a public opinion poll on political values show.
The poll by the independent Merdeka Center released today also found a majority of Malays surveyed — 70 per cent — felt that corruption among the community’s leaders was the main threat to the Malay/Bumiputera political position as opposed to “demands made by other races in the country.”

The results of this latest survey suggest Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) still has its work cut out in their bid to win back lost support since Election 2008.

Umno’s leadership has been particularly sensitive about the Malay ground even as Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak continues to push his reform agenda.

Najib has been forced to hold back several drastic reforms to affirmative action policies because many within Umno are convinced the majority of Malays will return to the party if it becomes more strident in protecting Malay interests.

But the latest Merdeka Center survey showed that the Malays were equally split on government assistance programmes with 45 per cent of them believing that it only benefits the rich and politically connected.

About 48 per cent of the Malays surveyed believed that such programmes have benefited the ordinary public.

The poll was conducted between January 21 and April 26 to gauge public attitudes towards a number of issues such as national unity, integrity, democratic participation and affirmative action, said Merdeka Center in a statement.

It added that a total of 3141 Malaysians aged 19 and above were interviewed nationwide, comprising 51 per cent Malays, 26 per cent Chinese, seven per cent Indian, nine per cent other Muslim Bumiputeras and seven per cent non-Muslim Bumiputeras.

The survey also showed that 59 per cent of the Malays and Bumiputeras believed that special privileges should continue to be accorded to them by virtue of being the original inhabitants of the country.

But up to 40 per cent of the Malay respondents said that all Malaysians should receive equal treatment regardless of race or religion.

The survey results also indicated that the non-Malays were almost split on the Najib administration’s national unity agenda with 46 per cent of the respondents believing that the 1 Malaysia concept is only a political agenda to win the non-Malay votes.

Only 39 per cent of the non-Malays believed that the concept introduced by Najib after he took over the government was a sincere effort to unite all races in Malaysia.

Some 16 per cent of the non-Malays chose not to respond to the question.

Malaysians were also almost equally divided on the state of national unity with 48 per cent of those surveyed believing that citizens are more united now while 43 per cent believed that the country was more divided.

The Malaysian Insider | KUALA LUMPUR, 09-July-2010 — A disconnect between the government and the public has resulted in a majority of Malaysians feeling powerless in bringing about change in the country, a new poll of voters has found.

A recent survey by the independent Merdeka Center showed that the majority of Malaysians felt that they were incapable of bringing positive reforms to the country.

According to the survey conducted from January to April this year, 66 per cent of some 3,000 respondents believed that they had no say over issues raised in the survey.

Issues touched on by the survey included those such as national unity, integrity, democratic participation, and affirmative action.

The outcome of the survey suggests that the Najib administration has yet to effectively convince the public on its key policies.

Since taking over the government in April last year, Datuk Seri Najib Razak has laid down various ambitious reform plans including the National Key Results Areas (NKRA), which aims to, among other targets, eradicate corruption and forge national unity.

Merdeka Center director Ibrahim Suffian speculated that the sense of being powerless could be the result of government’s failure to conduct programmes that reflect the wishes of the public.

“A lot of things that the government have been doing might not reflect what the people want,” Ibrahim told The Malaysian Insider.

“Despite being able to vote, the people do not see how they can exert influence on the leadership. In many places, they still feel disconnected from the leaders,” he added.

Ibrahim said the survey reflected the wishes for greater public consultation on public policy formulation.

The poll outcome also showed that the majority of Malaysians were sceptical about government spending ,with 53 per cent of respondents believing that public funds were not being spent prudently.

About 63 per cent of the respondents also believed that government assistance would not reach the needy.

The survey also revealed that 72 per cent of youths aged 19 to 24 were not interested in politics, while only 52 per cent of respondents above 50 took an interest.

However, democracy was not an issue that resonated among Malaysians, with just 27 per cent of the respondents listing “making the country more democratic” as the most important change they wanted to see in the country.

Improving the education system was the second most important issue, with 20 per cent of the respondents wishing for it to become world class.

The Malay Mail| KUALA LUMPUR, 22-June-2010 : The government is still ruling out the return of local government elections.

A recent survey conducted by independent opinion research firm Merdeka Center revealed that 71% of its respondents were in favour of the third vote.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz, however, affirmed the government is clear on its stance and will not reconsider, despite the results of the survey.

“The government’s stance on elections for local governments is still no,” said Nazri, when met at Parliament yesterday.

Last Saturday, Democratic Action Party (DAP) national chairman Karpal Singh said the DAP-led Penang government will take legal action to restore local government elections.

“I think it’s a constitutional issue,” said Nazri, responding to Karpal’s statement. “So bring it to court then. Let the court decide on the requirement of the constitution with regard to local government elections.”

When asked about the chances of Penang triumphing in court, the de facto law minister was confident the third vote will not be reintroduced.

“It all depends on the interpretation of the constitution, so let the courts decide on that. But in our opinion, it (the reintroduction of local government elections) can’t happen,” said Nazri.

The State governments of Penang and Selangor have been lobbying for the restoration of the ‘third vote’, but their requests have been shot down by the Federal government.

Selangor exco for Local Government, Study and Research, Ronnie Liu, told The Malay Mail on Sunday the Selangor government will not follow the Penang government in taking the matter to court but it is studying ways to hold local government elections without breaching the law.

The Merdeka Center survey results, released last week, was based on a telephone survey on 1,028 randomly-selected registered voters in Peninsular Malaysia.

Among other things, the same survey also found 45 per cent of the respondents fully understood what was meant by the third vote.

In March, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said it was unnecessary to reintroduce local government elections, abolished in 1965, because it will encourage politicking among members of local councils.

The then Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Kong Cho Ha also said he did not support local government polls, due to the complications it carries, such as tremendous logistics, tedious process and hefty costs.

Reinstate third vote within ambit of the law, says Liu

PETALING JAYA: The Selangor government is studying the possibilities and methods within the law to hold local government elections in the near future.

“The idea to organise local government elections is very much our intention. We are looking at it from all possibilities within the law to do it,” said State exco for Local Government, Study and Research, Ronnie Liu.

Liu, speaking to The Malay Mail, said the Selangor government believes it has found a way to hold local elections without breaching the law.

“One possibility is to hold local government elections by fielding local councillors’ appointed by the State.” This way, he felt, voters would have a choice of picking the best possible candidates from among the councillors appointed earlier by the State.

When asked if the State government would still require the Election Commission’s (EC) approval to organise it, he said: “It’s a bit delicate but it’s attainable. There’s still an available avenue to hold it.”

Liu, who is Pandamaran assemblyman, said the Selangor government was aware the proposal for local council polls was hampered by Federal legislation, such as the Local Government Act 1976, which prevents the State government’s intention to hold the third vote.

“At the moment, Selangor is not going to follow the path of the Penang government to institute legal proceedings to hold local elections.”

He was responding to DAP chairman Karpal Singh’s recent statement that the Penang government would seek legal action to restore local elections.

Instead, Liu said the Selangor government is looking at various possibilities within the law to restore local government elections.

“The Selangor government is determined and still believes that we can to hold it to fulfill our 2008 general election promises.”

NST Online | KUALA LUMPUR, 17-June-2010 : Over 70 per cent of Malaysians want elections for local government, according to a Merdeka Center survey last month.
However, the survey also found that slightly less than half of the respondents or 45 per cent of them fully understood what was meant by local government elections.

Merdeka Center director Ibrahim Suffian said in a statement yesterday that those aged 61 and above were aware that local government elections in Malaysia were last held in 1964 while the younger age group had the lowest understanding at 37 per cent.

The survey was done by telephone in Peninsular Malaysia between May 6 and 16. It randomly picked 1,028 registered voters aged 21 and above.

“It showed 54 per cent of voters did not understand the different jurisdictions between the federal and state governments over public services,” he said.

The survey also asked respondents about the responsibilities of the federal and state governments over seven public services such as roads in housing areas, water supply, public transport, interconnecting roads, public health, building of schools and public safety.

Generally, respondents had mixed understanding of federal and state jurisdictions over these public services. But 66 per cent felt that there was too much power in the hands of the Federal Government”

“With respect to the role of elected representatives, the survey found 29 per cent of respondents viewed that the main responsibility of their member of parliament was to attend to local issues in the constituencies such as drainage problems,” Ibrahim said.

Merdeka Center for Opinion Research is an independent, non-partisan organisation focused on public opinion research and socio-economic analysis.

The Malaysian Insider | KUALA LUMPUR, 16-June-2010 — Over 70 per cent of voters contacted in a Merdeka Centre survey support local government elections while only 16 per cent rejected the concept.
Malaysia used to practice local council government elections but the practice was abolished in 1964 and it is widely perceived that the quality of services have steadily deteriorated as local government representatives are no longer accountable to the local citizenry.

There have been numerous calls from the public for local government elections to be re-instated and DAP even made it part of their 2008 election campaign manifesto.

Since taking power in Penang however, DAP has been unable to deliver on that promise saying that local council elections would require federal approval.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has rejected calls for such elections saying that it would lead to more unwanted politicking.

Support for local government elections was fairly consistent across all races with Chinese at 75 per cent, Indians at 71 per cent and Malays at 68 per cent.

A majority of respondents — 54 per cent — also said that they do not know their local councilors.

Sixty-six per cent of respondents also agreed that too much power is concentrated in the hands of the federal government while only 23 per cent disagreed.

The survey showed a lack of widespread confidence in terms of understanding the roles of the various jurisdictions and the concept of local government election.

More than half – 54 per cent – said that they do not understand the different jurisdictions of state and federal government.

When asked the question: “Do you understand what it means, when people talk about

local government elections?” slightly more than half responded “No” while 45 per cent said “Yes”.

For the survey The Merdeka Centre polled 1028 randomly selected voters structured along the national electorate profile in May. It has an estimated margin of error of about 3.1 per cent.

Most countries that have well run towns and cities practice local government elections. These include Switzerland, Australia, Canada, Switzerland, Japan, US and Germany.

The Malay Mail | PETALING JAYA, 11-June-2010 : Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak received a boost when the latest survey by the Merdeka Centre found his popularity rose to 72%, up from 69% in April this year, thus reinforcing the feeling that the country is moving in the right direction.

The survey by the independent opinion research house was carried out from May 6 to 16, after the Hulu Selangor by-election on April 25 (the Sibu by-election was on May 16), and saw a massive 80% approval from Indians, followed by Malays at 77% and Chinese at 58%.

“The public in general recognised his (Najib’s) efforts but they wished to see his policies implemented successfully, with a wait-and-see approach for his Government Transformation Programme (GTP) and the New Economic Model (NEM),” said Merdeka Centre head, Ibrahim Suffian.

The Malay Mail spoke with politicians on both sides of the divide for their views on Najib’s higher approval ratings. Here’s what they said.

Johor Baru MP, Datuk Shahrir Samad (Umno):
“”The latest survey reflects a good yards tick on our PM’s popularity. It was a strong indication that Malaysians accept his people-friendly approach and this would spur him to do better.

“It is a decent assessment of his style of leadership but it’s no surprise to see the jibes by the Opposition on this poll to discredit the survey.

“We must remember the poll was conducted by an independent opinion research firm. It goes to show that the Opposition is worried.”

MCA Ayer Hitam MP, Datuk Wee Ka Siong:
“I consider the poll as a morale booster for Najib. Chinese youngsters are also warming up to his people-friendly style and his 1Malaysia concept.

“Of course, there’s room for improvement and I am sure there will be plenty more to come from the PM which may draw more support from the public, especially the Chinese community. I think his mission to turn the country into a high-income nation will receive positive response since that’s what the youngsters are really
concerned with — generating more income.”

Hulu Selangor MP P. Kamalanathan (MIC):
“This is a poll by an independent organisation and it’s a clear reflection of Najib’s efforts. I can tell you the people are upbeat about his style of leadership and plans for the country.

“It was an endorsement by Malaysians and the majority are with him. From BN’s successful campaign in the Hulu Selangor by-election, I could see the people were smitten with his approach and I know the public their trust this man to propel the country further.”

Pokok Sena MP Mahfuz Omar (Pas):
“This popularity rating means nothing. It does not indicate anything. We should take a leaf from former Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Badawi. At one time, Abdullah reached an all-time high rating of 92% and look at what happened in the 2008 general election.

“Somehow, his popularity contributed to his downfall and we gained a lot from it. Maybe this rating improvement for Najib is another good sign for us to capture Putrajaya.”

Subang MP R. Sivarasa (PKR):
“It’s only a poll and I am not too concerned about it. It didn’t reflect the real thing even though the poll may show the general feeling among the public at the moment. The opinion poll was only conducted in Peninsular Malaysia and it was conducted after the Miri by-election.

“I believe if it’s conducted randomly in Sabah and Sarawak, I am certain it would be different. If we look back to the 2008 general election, we were almost equal on parliamentary seats with Barisan Nasional in the Peninsular, and mind you that was the aftermath of Pak Lah’s popularity.”

Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo (DAP):
“I am not sure what the survey was based on but all I want to say is that the public is still sceptical of Najib’s administration. Many decisions by him have been questionable. Popularity means next to nothing since his policies could backfire on him.

“There’s no real improvement in the GTP and the public is also, at the moment, unhappy with the sports betting issue and public wastage. Is he a reformist PM or Umno PM toeing the Umno line? The people are also unable to digest what actually is his 1Malaysia concept.”

Kulim-Bandar Baru MP, Zulkifli Noordin (Konsensus Bebas):
“I think it reflects the people’s acceptance of Najib’s leadership and the things he has been trying to implement for the past one year. His higher approval rating was due to his style of governing and openness.

“Najib’s engagement with the people so far has been unique. In my opinion, people were receptive as he listened to them. He is seen as a PM who walks the talk.”

We’re impartial

MERDEKA Centre opinion research head Ibrahim Suffian said its approval ratings survey is conducted in an objective manner and neutral from a research point of view.

“We are an independent body and our surveys have no inclination towards any side or political divide. We are impartial when working on the next best possible findings to gauge public opinion,” he said.

From his observation, he said, it’s a norm that Malaysians in general are still conservative and respectful towards politicians particularly with regards to the person who helms the position of prime minister.

He said in this country, the popularity of a politician cannot be translated into political choice.

“It’s common knowledge that some members of the public tend to speak their mind about the government or political landscape in the country. But when it comes to feedback, their answers can be guarded despite their sentiments,” said Ibrahim.

“In our surveys, we apply the same method sampling using the Likert scale (psychometric scale commonly used in questionnaires). We are always open to criticism as no survey is perfect and we recognise there are limitations.

“In any circumstance, a survey on the public is a moving dynamic. As for the public’s approval of the PM, we are interested in weighing public sentiment on local and national issues at a particular point of time.”

Ibrahim was responding to criticisms levelled at Merdeka Centre by several blogs and Opposition leaders regarding the approval ratings analysis which showed Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s popularity soar to 72% in May, compared with 69% in April.

He noted that the public was increasingly pessimistic about the country’s leadership, with 58% holding the standpoint that “the Federal government was good in planning but weak in implementation”.

“For example, on the question of whether the country is heading in the right direction, only 19% were ‘very satisfied’ while 53% voted for the ‘somewhat satisfied’ answer,” said Ibrahim.

He described the people’s acceptance and level of confidence towards the PM in the urban and rural areas as diverse.

“Based on our latest survey (May 6 to 16), I can safely say that the rural people were inclined to support the PM and the urban community yet to be convinced with Najib’s leadership.

“Any support towards an idea or effort by a politician depends on a lot of factors. We must remember that in any political backdrop, not all plans reach its objectives and we must bear in mind that the public are observant.”