The Star/Asia News Network | KUALA LUMPUR, 14-July-2010 : Corrupt leaders are the main threat to the position of the Malays and bumiputras, a survey here found.
Only 20% of the respondents in the Merdeka Centre for Opinion Research poll felt that the bumiputras’ position was threatened by demands made by other races.
The telephone survey, conducted among 3,141 people nationwide between Jan 21 and April 26, said 70% of Malay and bumiputra respondents agreed that the main threat to their position was corruption among their leaders.
In general, the public perceived the corruption problem as serious but 69% were optimistic that it can be resolved.
A view that was consistent across ethnic lines, region and urban/rural setting was the lack of confidence in government aid programmes reaching the needy.
Some 63% expressed dissatisfaction on the delivery system.
The survey also found 72% of the Malay and bumiputra respondents felt they still needed help to move ahead while 59% believed the special rights accorded to them should continue.
The respondents in the survey, aged 19 years and above, comprised Malays (51%), Chinese (26%), Indians (7%), Muslim bumiputra (9%) and non-Muslim bumiputra (7%).
Merdeka Center director Ibrahim Suffian and researcher Lee Lih Qing presented the findings.
“There are limitations, such as not being able to reach to those deep in the rural areas.
“And we can only get hold of rural people who have mobile phones.
‘That itself says something about their socio-economic status,” Ibrahim said, adding that the margin of error was 1.75%