NAJIB Razak lags behind his cousin, Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, and the youth and sport minister as the next prime minister, a Parti Bersatu Pribumi Malaysia survey shows.

The survey, carried out last July among nearly 2,881 respondents, also revealed that more than a third (37.3%) picked Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin as the top prime minister choice.

Najib only polled 20% behind Hishammuddin (26.4%) and Youth and Sport Minister Khairy Jamaluddin (23.3%). 

Their second choice for prime minister was Bersatu chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad (35.9%) followed by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang (34.3%). 

The respondents were asked to rank 17 leaders as prime minister.

The “What Malaysians Want” survey was based on 23 focus groups identifying issues relevant to Malaysians. Bersatu’s Bureau of Policy and Strategy formulated the 222-question survey after collating the discussion points from 162 participants from the focus groups. 

They then conducted face-to-face interviews with 2,881 Malaysians in more than 30 constituencies. The respondents consist of 52.2% men and 47.8% women. 

23.1% of the respondents were from cities, towns (49.8%), interiors (19.8%) and settlements like Felda (7.2%). The racial profile was 67.6% Malay, Chinese (23%), Indians (5.6%) and Sabah And Sarawak natives (3.7%). 

Education wise, 25.4% of those surveyed had degrees, diplomas and certificates (35.2%), and SPM or lower qualifications (39.4%).

The study was conducted between July and August 2016 before Bersatu was formalised. – May 10, 2017.