Opinion Research Centre
themalaysianinsight.com | 23-Apr-2021 – PRIME Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s approval rating remains stable at 67% amid concerns over the economy and the Covid-19 pandemic, a recent survey of Peninsular Malaysia voters revealed.
The survey by Merdeka Centre showed that Muhyiddin retained strong support from the Malay electorate at 83% as compared to 30% and 66% from the Chinese and Indian communities respectively.
themalaysianinsight.com | 23-Apr-2021 – ONLY 21% – or one out of five Malaysians – polled by Merdeka Centre were “very satisfied” with Putrajaya’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The survey, carried out between March and April, showed that 49% of the respondents were satisfied, while 19% were dissatisfied.
straitstimes.com | 23-Apr-2021 – KUALA LUMPUR – Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s approval ratings have barely dipped despite Malaysia experiencing its worst wave of coronavirus infections earlier this year, with nearly seven in 10 still giving him the thumbs up.
While 67 per cent of over 2,000 voters surveyed by top pollster Merdeka Centre from March 31 to April 12 said they were satisfied with Tan Sri Muhyiddin, 83 per cent of the crucial Malay electorate – which forms the majority in more than half of Parliament’s 222 seats – approved of his premiership.
“The survey indicates… signs of optimism after the reopening of the economy along with the commencement of the vaccination roll-out,” the centre said in a statement on Friday (April 23).
“This is manifested in the still strong approval for the Prime Minister and reasonable confidence in the handling of the pandemic and economy – despite the stressed conditions voters report for their own personal financial conditions and their perception of the economy.”
Economic concerns (57 per cent) and the spread of Covid-19 (16 per cent) were ranked as the top concerns in the poll.
Merdeka Center has also consistently found more Malaysians expressing a decline rather than an improvement in their personal finances and the national economy for the past seven years.
Yet, satisfaction with the Muhyiddin administration’s economic management has been positive throughout, except in January, when only 45 per cent said they were happy, from a high of 65 per cent last May.
Backing for the government’s economic chops is now at 51 per cent.
When satisfaction with the government’s handling of the pandemic was at a high of 93 per cent in August last year – daily infections were often in single digits – Mr Muhyiddin’s approval was at 69 per cent.
A low of 63 per cent backing the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia president in January coincided with happiness in his government’s Covid-19 performance dropping to 53 per cent. Strict movement curbs had to be reimposed and new cases reached nearly 6,000 then.
Faith in the administration’s pandemic response rebounded to 70 per cent this month as daily infections dropped below 1,000 although the 2,000 mark has been breached the whole of the past week.
Mr Muhyiddin’s popularity remains a key consideration for his fledgling Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition, especially after Umno – the largest party in his government – declared it would go its separate way once an election is called.
The premier has vowed that fresh polls would be held once a much-criticised emergency, declared ostensibly to see off the pandemic, is lifted.
The King declared the seven-month-long emergency in January on the Muhyiddin administration’s advice, allowing the premier to suspend Parliament and avoid challenges to his majority which has been in doubt since the turn of the year.
Apart from Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS), the Bersatu-led PN is largely viewed as not having a strong grassroots machinery ahead of its firstgeneral election.
Instead, Umno hopes to reclaim its dominance of Malaysian politics, which ended after six uninterrupted decades when the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition – which Bersatu was part of – shockingly won the 2018 polls.
Many analysts believe a three-way battle between PH, PN and the Umno-led Barisan Nasional will be so tightly fought that an outright majority will not be won on election night.
malaysiakini.com | 23-Apr-2021 –
Independent pollster Merdeka Center said Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin enjoys a 67 percent approval rating in Peninsular Malaysia and described his rating as stable.
Muhyiddin’s highest approval rating recorded by Merdeka Center was 74 percent between June and July last year. The lowest rating recorded was 63 percent in January.
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malaymail.com | KUALA LUMPUR, April 23 — Despite the majority of Malaysians still unhappy over the direction of the country, an increased approval rating for Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin indicates increasing optimism for the Perikatan Nasional (PN) administration, Merdeka Center suggested today.
“In our view, the survey indicates a West Malaysian electorate that is exhibiting some signs of optimism after the reopening of the economy along with the commencement of the vaccination rollout.
“This is manifested in the still strong approval for the prime minister and reasonable confidence in the handling of the pandemic and economy — despite the still stressed conditions voters report for their own personal financial conditions and their perception of the economy,” it said in a statement.
Its recent survey which polled 2,111 respondents from March 31 to April 12 showed that 41 per cent of them agreed the country is headed in the right direction, with 46 per cent disagreeing, and the rest unsure.
However when juxtaposed against the general sentiment towards Muhyiddin’s leadership as prime minister, 67 per cent of respondents expressed satisfaction with him at the wheel, 30 per cent were dissatisfied, and three per cent undecided.
The last survey conducted in January saw Muhyiddin obtaining only a 63 per cent approval rating, with 50 per cent of respondents having disagreed with the country’s direction earlier this year.
As for the 46 per cent of respondents who did not think the country is heading in the right direction, their main concern is the general political instability, followed by the country’s economic performance with specific grouses such as rising cost of living, and employment.
These respondents also expressed worries towards the quality of administration in the government, with others issues being incompetent leaders and racial inequality.
In order of importance, these respondents listed economic concerns, the curbing of the Covid-19 pandemic, politics, racial issues, and leadership abilities as their top worries.
For the 41 per cent who agreed with the country’s direction, a majority of them revealed they felt the government is being administered well, and that the welfare of the people are being looked after.
A portion were also content with the gains and the favourable economic condition, a portion attributing their yes votes to the peace enjoyed in the country, and a few who agreed the current political situation is sufficiently stable.
However, when quizzed specifically on the country’s economy, 68 per cent of respondents said they felt it has deteriorated, 19 per cent said it has improved, seven per cent who said nothing has changed, and the remaining unsure.
Across the board, the majority of respondents from be it racial groups, male and female participants, those with or without a college level education, even and those in urban and rural settings felt the economy is going through a decline.
Even respondents across different age categories, professions, and household income groups agreed that the declining country’s economy is experiencing a slump.
As for the government’s handling of the economy 51 per cent of respondents expressed satisfaction, with 43 per cent disagreeing with government’s handling.
When broken down into racial groups, 66 per cent of Malay respondents provided positive answers to the country’s management of the economy, 47 per cent of Indians agreeing, with only 17 per cent of Chinese respondents feeling the same.
But when tested across professions, most of the test groups consisting of those employed in the government of government-linked companies (66 per cent), those in the private sector (48 per cent) and the self employed (51 per cent) said they agreed with the government’s management of the economy.
thejakartapost.com | 02-Sept-2020 – Malaysia’s Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has been rated highly by voters, according to a poll published on Wednesday, on his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and greater representation of the ethnic Malay majority in his administration.
Muhyiddin received a 69% 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% 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 https://reut.rs/3hSwxEP 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% 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 Organization (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.
malaymail.com | 02-Sept-2020 – KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 2 ― A survey conducted by independent pollster Merdeka Center showed a declining approval rating from voters regarding the direction the country is currently headed.
From a size sample of 3,415 voters, 51 per cent said they felt the country is heading in the right direction, a seven percentage points drop from May, while 34 per cent think it is heading in the wrong direction, an increase of four points since May.
“For those who answered the country is in the right direction, 26 per cent of them have attributed it to good administration of the government while 21 per cent were happy with the leadership.
“Meanwhile, 34 per cent of respondents feel that the country is on the wrong track,” said Merdeka Center programme director Ibrahim Suffian.
“Almost one-third (31 per cent) are frustrated because of the perceived political instability, and 17 per cent complained about economic problems such as unemployment and an adverse business climate.”
Out of the 34 per cent who felt the government was heading in the wrong directions, 32.7 per cent put it down to political instability, 9.9 per cent said it was due to unfavourable economic conditions while 6.3 per cent said it was due to poor leadership.
The survey was conducted from July 15 until August 10 to gauge voters’ perceptions towards the economy, leadership and current issues. Of the 3,415 respondents 52 per cent were Malay, 29 per cent Chinese, 7 per cent Indian, 6 per cent Muslim Bumiputera and 6 per cent Non-Muslim Bumiputera (from Sabah and Sarawak).
The survey showed that Malays had the most significant drop in approval rating for the direction the government is heading. It dropped from 82 per cent in May to 72 per cent in August.
The rating from ethnic Indians dropped two percentage points to 39 per cent while the ethnic Chinese approval ratings dropped five percentage points to 14 per cent in the same time period
themalaysianinsight.com | 02-Sept-2020 – NEARLY six in 10 Malay voters agreed with the Kuala Lumpur High Court that Najib Razak is guilty of abusing power and money laundering, said pollster Merdeka Centre today.
“Sixty-one percent respondents on the poll agreed with the court’s decision while only 18% answered otherwise.
bloomberg.com | 02-Sept-2020 – The approval rating for Malaysia’s Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin remained high, as more than 90% of people were satisfied with how the government responded to the pandemic.
Support for the premier was sustained through months of virus-induced movement curbs and an economic contraction while his overall approval rating eased to 69% in August, from 74% in June and July, according to pollster Merdeka Center. His Perikatan Nasional alliance was viewed positively by 51% of respondents, twice what the opposition coalition received.
Muhyiddin was appointed prime minister by the king after he and several lawmakers defected from the government. His turbulent rise to power prompted his administration to be labeled a “back-door government” and led to calls for a fresh election by political parties from both sides of the divide. The premier currently controls a razor-thin majority in parliament.
Muhyiddin is most popular among the country’s biggest group, the ethnic Malays, according to the pollster. Nine out of 10 Malay and Bumiputera respondents gave him the thumbs up, while 57% of them agreed with the court’s guilty verdict for Najib over his role in the 1MDB scandal.
The survey involved a random sample of 3,415 registered voters across the country with an estimated margin of error of 1.68%, according to the Merdeka Center.
malaymail.com | 02-Sept-2020 – KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 2 — The ruling Perikatan Nasional (PN) alliance is approved by over half of Malaysians surveyed last month by independent pollster Merdeka Center.
Conversely, it found positive reception for the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition to be only at 25 per cent.
“Among the contemporary coalitions and political parties in Malaysia, PN is enjoying the highest positive perception from the voters today.
“More than half or 51 per cent of the respondents view it positively and only 27 per cent feel negatively,” said Merdeka Center programme director Ibrahim Suffian of the Bersatu-Barisan Nasional-PAS government.
“On the other hand, the positive view of Muafakat Nasional (MN) is only 37 per cent and the number is slightly lower than its component parties Barisan Nasional (BN) 40 per cent and PAS 39 per cent.
“Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, which has expressed to join MN recently, only scored 28 per cent positive views and 39 per cent are negative,” Ibrahim added.
PH consisting of DAP, PKR and Amanah scored the highest negative rating at 52 per cent.
Besides that, the Merdeka Center survey found 60 per cent of Malay voters backed PPBM’s inclusion in MN.
It found 65 per cent of Malays polled prefer Umno to be in PN, but 25 per cent think otherwise.
Similarly, the pollster said 68 per cent of Malay voters prefer PAS to be part of PN.
The Merdeka Center survey polled 3,415 voters between July 15 July and August 10, asking them about issues like the country’s economy, government and political leadership and other current issues.
Merdeka Center said the respondents comprised 52 per cent Malay, 29 per cent ethnic Chinese, 7 per cent ethnic Indian and 6 per cent other Muslim Bumiputera from Sabah and Sarawak.
