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New Straits Times | 02-Sept-2020 – PETALING JAYA: 69 per cent of Malaysian voters are satisfied with the performance of Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as the prime minister, according to a survey by Merdeka Centre for Opinion Research completed on Aug 10.

“The survey found some significant ethnic variances, where nine out of 10 Malay and Bumiputera from Sabah and Sarawak gave the PM the thumbs up, while 65 percent of Indians and only 33 percent Chinese were satisfied with him.

“The prime minister’s approval rating continues to be in a comfortable, positive territory considering that he has held the position since March 2020. The similar tendency was also found in the public evaluation of the federal government.

“58 percent of voters are happy with the performance of the Perikatan Nasional government led by the PM while 28 percent were dissatisfied and angry,” said Merdeka Centre co-founder and programmes director Ibrahim Suffian in a statement today.

Interestingly, he said, the income gap was one of the indicators to differentiate who agreed or disagreed with the performance of the government.

He said around three-quarter of respondents whose household income was less than RM2,000 per month expressed positive views towards the federal government but only 40 per cent were positive among those whose household income were higher than RM7,000 per month.

At the same time, 51 percent of respondents felt the country was headed in the right direction. The number is slightly lower than May this year, but it was still significantly higher than the last six months, he said.

“Between July 2019 and February 2020, only a quarter of Malaysians thought the country was moving on th

theedgemarkets.com | 02-Sept-2020 – KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 2): Malaysia’s Prime Minister Tan Sri 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 Tun Dr 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 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 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.

theedgemarkets.com | 02-Sept-2020 – KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 2): A poll by the Merdeka Center found that Perikatan Nasional (PN) has the highest positive perception among voters currently, with 51% of respondents viewing the coalition positively, versus 27% that see it negatively.

However, only 37% of respondents view the Muafakat Nasional (MN) political pact positively, slightly lower than its component parties of Barisan Nasional (40%) and PAS (39%).

Meanwhile, 28% of the respondents viewed Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), which has expressed its intention to join MN, positively, while 39% are negative. About 60% of Malay voters support Bersatu joining MN.

About 65% of Malay respondents prefer to see Umno in PN, while 25% do not. Meanwhile, 68% of Malay voters prefer PAS to be part of the coalition.

The opinion research firm found that Pakatan Harapan (PH) scored the highest negative rating at 52%, with only 25% of respondents viewing the PKR-DAP-Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) coalition positively.

“The survey findings illustrate the strong preference and approval particularly, among Malay voters, towards the present ruling coalition Government headed by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin,” said Merdeka Center.

“The results also indicate a significant swing of Malay voters towards a unified Malay political coalition as exemplified by the large majority of approval gained by PN and MN — notwithstanding some contrary views put forth by some leaders in the coalition,” it added.

The survey was carried out by Merdeka Center between July 15 and Aug 10 to gauge the perception of voters towards the economy, leadership and current issues.

A total of 3,415 registered voters (who were picked randomly), comprising 52% Malay, 29% Chinese, 7% Indian, 6% Muslim Bumiputera, and 6% Non-Muslim Bumiputera (from Sabah and Sarawak) were interviewed. Merdeka Center said this is reflective of the national electoral profile.

Edited by S Kanagaraju

malaymail.com | 02-Sept-2020 – KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 2 ― Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin appears to have a high rating among Malaysians with 69 per cent recently surveyed by independent pollster Merdeka Center saying they were happy with his performance.

Muhyiddin has been PM for about six months since replacing Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in March. The survey was completed on August 10.

According to Merdeka Center’s findings, nine out of 10 Malays and Bumiputera from Sabah and Sarawak gave Muhyiddin the thumbs up. He was approved by 65 per cent of ethnic Indians while only 33 per cent of ethnic Chinese were satisfied with him.

“The prime minister’s approval rating continues to be in a comfortable, positive territory considering that he has held the position since March 2020,” Merdeka Center programme director Ibrahim Suffian said in a statement today.

Merdeka Center also found 58 per cent of Malaysians were happy with the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government led by Muhyiddin while 28 per cent expressed dissatisfaction or anger.

“Interestingly, the gap of income is one of the indicators to differentiate who agrees or disagrees with the performance of the government.

“Around three-quarters of the respondents whose household income is less than RM2,000 per month expressed positive views towards the federal government but only 40 per cent were positive among those whose household income were higher than RM7,000 per month,” Ibrahim said.

He noted that part of Muhhyiddin’s high approval rating stems from the 93 per cent overall satisfaction rate on how the PN government is handling the Covid-19 pandemic.

The survey showed that 68 per cent Malaysians agreed that the government has been helpful to those in need, while 61 per cent felt the government had been managing the economy well.

“In our view, this increase of Malay voter support takes place on the back of a positive management of the Covid-19 pandemic, rapid response in dispensing financial aid to affected low income households and businesses, as well as the latent satisfaction at seeing Malay political parties which had been in decades-long competition with one another finally coming together in a pact,” added Ibrahim.

The 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.

theborneopost.com | 02-Sep-2020 – KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 2): Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin appears to have a high rating among Malaysians with 69 per cent recently surveyed by independent pollster Merdeka Center saying they were happy with his performance.

Muhyiddin has been PM for about six months since replacing Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in March. The survey was completed on August 10.

According to Merdeka Center’s findings, nine out of 10 Malays and Bumiputera from Sabah and Sarawak gave Muhyiddin the thumbs up. He was approved by 65 per cent of ethnic Indians while only 33 per cent of ethnic Chinese were satisfied with him.

Merdeka Center also found 58 per cent of Malaysians were happy with the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government led by Muhyiddin while 28 per cent expressed dissatisfaction or anger.

“Interestingly, the gap of income is one of the indicators to differentiate who agrees or disagrees with the performance of the government.

“Around three-quarters of the respondents whose household income is less than RM2,000 per month expressed positive views towards the federal government but only 40 per cent were positive among those whose household income were higher than RM7,000 per month,” Ibrahim said.

He noted that part of Muhhyiddin’s high approval rating stems from the 93 per cent overall satisfaction rate on how the PN government is handling the Covid-19 pandemic.

The survey showed that 68 per cent Malaysians agreed that the government has been helpful to those in need, while 61 per cent felt the government had been managing the economy well.

“In our view, this increase of Malay voter support takes place on the back of a positive management of the Covid-19 pandemic, rapid response in dispensing financial aid to affected low income households and businesses, as well as the latent satisfaction at seeing Malay political parties which had been in decades-long competition with one another finally coming together in a pact,” added Ibrahim.

The 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. – Malay Mail

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.