NEARLY 60% of those polled in a survey said Prime Minister Najib Razak’s handling of the economy is on the wrong track, said the Invoke Centre for Policy Initiatives today.

The PKR-backed research outfit said only 41% were supportive of the Barisan Nasional government’s economic direction.

“Of those surveyed, 65% said the economy was now in worse shape compared with four years ago,” Invoke head and PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli said at a press conference.

The survey, conducted via telephone, saw 1.9 million people contacted using an interactive response system, but only 3,783 responses were collected.

It was carried out from June 10 to July 14, coinciding with the Hari Raya holidays, which Rafizi attributed the low number of respondents to.

Despite the many announcements by Najib and his administration over the past few months, such as the Indian Blueprint and launch of the Mass Rapid Transit line, the survey said there was no shift in mood on the ground.

“Najib is battling is a pessimistic sentiment. There are a lot of disgruntled voters who feel that life is getting harder, blaming the goods and services tax, and saying he is not doing enough for them,”said Rafizi.

“These are the voters who matter most because they are not influenced much by rhetoric, scandals like 1Malaysia Development Berhad or issues on race. They comprise the biggest chunk of voters.

“If Najib has improved the economic situation, or what he has announced so far has changed things for the better, then we should be seeing a more positive sentiment.”

He said it was unlikely that Najib would call the general election in November as he needed time to “fix” the feel-good sentiment.

The survey also showed a disparity between the government’s official inflation number, at between 2% and 3%, and what those polled felt was the more accurate number, which was more than 10%.

“This has given a big advantage to the opposition because as Najib and his administration continue to announce a low inflation number, people will feel cheated as the government numbers and hike in prices just don’t match,” said Rafizi, adding that the inflation number was the most easily understood figure for the masses.

The survey also found that between 40% and 45% of Malay voters were satisfied with today’s economic situation, as compared with the Chinese (39%) and Indians (35%).

“This sentiment corresponds with the level of Malay support for Umno, and also the number of voters who still want Najib as prime minister, (as shown) in the previous survey,” said Rafizi.

“This shows that Malay support for Umno remains weak at about 35% to 45% in a three-cornered fight.”

Ten questions were posed in the survey, covering topics such as cost of food and sundries, petrol, utilities, clothing, schooling expenses, service of loans and salary. – August 16, 2017.