DR Mahathir Mohamad has dismissed a report that claims Pakatan Harapan’s popularity has nosedived to 35% from a high of 87% during the general election last year.

The prime minister said a Malaysiakini report that cited the survey results of pollster Merdeka Centre did not reflect the true picture of the people’s views.

“There are some who say Pakatan Harapan’s popularity has dropped. I don’t know where they got the figures,” he told a press conference after a PH retreat in Subang Jaya today.

He said the people’s confidence in PH was still intact, as was reflected in people still wanting to take photographs and shake hands with him.

“From what I know, many still want to take photos with me… want to shake my hand. This shows we still have the support.

“Sometimes, polls are not conclusive as only the views of a sample group are taken,” he added.

Earlier today, Malaysiakini, quoting sources, said PH’s popularity had dropped 35% based on the findings of a Merdeka Centre survey.

“Generally, PH is now an underdog and scores a ‘fail’ mark,” a source was quoted as saying in the report.

The report said the pact’s popularity among Chinese and Indian voters dropped to 41% as of August, while 30% of Malays still backed it.

It said the drop in popularity signified the ruling pact’s risk of losing the Tg Piai by-election next month. – October 6, 2019.