AS Pakatan Harapan clocks in 100 days in Putrajaya, not many Malay voters are impressed with Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s second administration, a survey has found.
The survey by pollster Ilham Centre found that Malay voters who are satisfied with the new government tended be younger, more urbanised and earned higher incomes.
The survey revealed that only 45% of more than 1,600 Malay respondents thought “Malaysia was on the right track under Dr Mahathir’s leadership”.
Those who did not think so made up 38% while the remaining 17% said they were unsure, according to the survey commissioned by The Malaysian Insight.
Urban Malays (48%), young Malays under 40 (53%), and those in the T20 or top 20 income group (50%) were more inclined to feel the government was doing well.
Meanwhile, 59% of those above 60 years old, 60% of those in rural areas, and 44% in the bottom 40 (B40) group did not think Malaysia was on the right track.
About 42% of Malays aged between 40 and 60 and 42% of those from the M40 group, disagreed with the idea that the country was on the right track.
The T20 group is defined as those with a median monthly household income of about RM13,000, while those in the M40 bracket earn a median of about RM6,000. Those in the B40 group earn a median of RM3,000 per month.
The survey also revealed that 37% of the respondents were generally satisfied with the performance of the cabinet while 33% were unsure and 29% unsatisfied.
Ilham Centre acting executive director Mohd Azlan Zainal said Malay voters in urban areas were more satisfied with the government because the coalition’s leaders and ministers were familiar faces.
“Those in the rural areas would not know them as well as urban voters, except for those they had been exposed to like Dr Mahathir, (deputy prime minister) Dr Wan Azizah (Wan Ismail) and Mohamad Sabu.
“Even though Mat Sabu is new at being a minister, people know him. He has been well known as a hard worker since his opposition days,” he said of the popular Amanah president and defence minister.
“So, the number of voters unhappy with the cabinet’s performance is high.”
The level of satisfaction is also different across regions. Malay respondents in the northern peninsula states of Perak, Kedah, Penang and Perlis were unhappy with the new government at 61%.
This was followed by Malays in the peninsula east coast (Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang at 56%. Down south (Negri Sembilan, Malacca and Johor), 54% did not think the country was on the right track post-GE14.
Even in PH’s strongest bastions of Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and southern Perak, only 42% of Malays were satisfied with the government, as opposed to 43% who were not.
Bread-and-butter issues
The survey also found that for most Malays voters, the government’s top three priorities should be tackling the high cost of living (32%), fulfilling its manifesto pledges (20%) and improving the economy (18%).
Defending Islam and Malay rights came in fourth place at 16%, followed by cleaning up corruption and restoring integrity at 10%.
The remaining 5% either did not know or did not want to respond.
The study involved 1,622 respondents aged above 21. About 16% were between 21 and 29, 30-39 (19%), 40-49 (28%), 50-59 (21%), while only 14% were above 60.
Men made up 51% of respondents.
More than half of the respondents were in the northern states, Selangor and the Federal Territories. A majority live in cities (66%), while the rest are from the suburbs (19%) and rural areas (15%).
Most of the 1,622 respondents are farmers, fishermen or worked in the kampung (21%), businessmen (21%) and government employees (16%). More than half the respondents are in the B40 group (52%) while 31% are in M40 and 17%, T20.
The study was conducted via questionnaires and in-depth interviews from June 1 until July 30.
PH made history on May 9 when it ousted Barisan Nasional from Putrajaya by winning 116 federal seats. It also has the support of Sabah’s Warisan, which has eight seats, and Upko that has one federal seat.
Barisan Nasional won 79 seats. The number has since dropped to 54 after it lost its component partners from Sarawak and several Umno MPs, who have turned independent. – August 13, 2018.
History, propaganda are no bedfellows
Penang Institute wants to draw locals back to lit fest
Honouring the spirit of Malaysia 1963
Umno bukan lagi pemain politik negara, kata penganalisis
Comments
Posted 7 years ago by Roger 5201 · Reply
Posted 7 years ago by Azad RAZACK · Reply
What matters now, is positively the knowledgeable ones are happy knowing that the country is on the right track.....the others will have to tow the line.
We cannot afford to please the old, the poor, the illiterate in country management. The future lies with advancement, like it or not.... while all countries go forward, we cannot stay conservative and primitively traditional in our livelihood.
Intergrity wins the race over race and religion......
Posted 7 years ago by Katherine Low · Reply
Posted 7 years ago by Richard L · Reply
Posted 7 years ago by MELVILLE JAYATHISSA · Reply
Posted 7 years ago by K Pop · Reply
After setting the GST to 0%, PH should follow thru on the stringent and vigorous enforcement to ensure price really come down to almost pre-GST level. Unfortunately, the Domestic and Consumer Minister and the rest of the other Cabinet Ministers have yet to perform their roles responsibly.
Posted 7 years ago by Jackal Way · Reply