EIGHTEEN months after a change of government, majority of Malaysians polled in a recent survey felt Pakatan Harapan was not up to mark and were unsure if the country was on the right track.
The survey: The Pulse From the Ground: Voices & Expectations of the Rakyat on Current Socio-economic Issues was conducted by Emir Research from September 5 to October 10 and polled 1,992 respondents.
It found that, while 24% of Malaysians found the PH government viable, a good majority are still unsure or pessimistic.
One of the lead researchers, Prof Tunku Mohar Tunku Mohd Mokhtar said about 25% of those polled believed the country was on the right track, the government was viable and the economy was on a strong footing.
However, 75% were either unsure or pessimistic.
The survey noted that 46% of the respondents were unsure of the ruling pact’s workability, while 30% perceived PH as a viable government, in contrast to the road leading up to the 14th general election last year where many Malaysians counted on PH to unseat Barisan Nasional.
“Exactly 50% of Malaysians are unsure whether the country’s future direction is on the right track.
“When this is added to the 24% of Malaysians who categorically said the country’s future direction is on the wrong track, it gets worrisome.
“Malaysians are also now less confident in the economy, where only 26% feel the economy is on a strong footing vis-a-vis the 30% who find the economy is not on a strong footing.
“A sizeable 44% were unsure of what state the economy was in,” the survey revealed.
From a geographic stance, rural folks were more worried of the government compared to people in urban areas.
A total of 16% of rural dwellers agreed that the country was on the right track as opposed to 29% of urbanites.
“They are also the ones who worry about the viability of the government when only 15% agreed that PH was a viable government compared to 28% of urban dwellers,” the study revealed.
Rural folks were also marginally less optimistic on the economy, as only 24% was of the view that the economy was on a good footing, compared to 27% of urban dwellers.
“A sizeable 84% of rural dwellers either have a negative view or were unsure when it came to whether the country’s future direction was on the right track.
“This observation is repeated again on the question of the viability of the PH government, when 85% of rural folk either disagreed or were equivocal on the viability of the PH government.
“Again, we see that a significant 76% of villagers have less confidence in the economy by virtue of their ‘disagree’ and ‘unsure’ responses to the questions on the strong footing of the economy,” the study said.
The poll also made an interesting observation that the higher income group had more faith in the country’s future direction and the viability of the PH government.
PH has also continued to court support from the elites as most respondents who fell into the highly educated segment were positive on the country’s welfare.
On the ethnicity front, 19% of Malays and Bumiputera agreed that the PH government was viable, followed by 37% Chinese and 22% Indians.
“However, the combined proportion of those who disagree or are unsure about the viability of PH government among the three racial groups are 81% for Malays and Bumiputera, 63% for Chinese and 78% for Indians.”
Meanwhile, a total of 37% of the Malaysians surveyed said their living conditions were better now compared to two years ago and are hopeful for a better future while 19% were pessimistic and felt their present living conditions were not good enough and will not get any better.
The study used both quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis.
The research team was led by Prof Mohamad Sahari Nordin along with Tunku Mohar and Prof Margarita Peredaryenko, with some 25 enumerators deployed.
Emir Research is an independent think-tank which focuses on strategic policy recommendations based upon rigorous research. – November 28, 2019.
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