WARNING lights are flashing for Barisan Nasional in Johor with data from a survey suggesting that all is not well for the coalition in its stronghold.
Even the Umno rank and file are concerned that voters in the southernmost state are brooding over the high cost of living and not giving enough credit to the Najib administration for prudent management of the economy.
A party official at branch level told The Malaysian Insight: “Najib has done good but members are more concerned about the cost of living and the GST (goods and services tax).
“They are more focused on their daily needs, instead of the needs of the party machinery.”
Some who were finding it hard to make ends meet were blaming their troubles on the federal government, he said.
His worries are not unfounded.
A Merdeka Centre survey last month that threw up a raft of unfavourable findings for BN, appears to back him up.
Of the 1,007 respondents in the survey, 57% felt the country was headed in the wrong direction, compared with 36% who thought the country was on the right track track.
About 55% said they were dissatisfied with the federal government, compared with 39% who were happy with the Najib administration.
This is troubling news for BN, especially in a state that contributes 21 parliamentary seats and which is well known as the birthplace of Umno.
“The most significant decline (in support for BN) was among Malay voters,” said Merdeka Centre executive director Ibrahim Suffian.
The survey found that BN’s favourability rating among Malay respondents dropped from 65% to 58%.
This is a significant shift from the 2013 general election, where BN received about 83% of the popular vote among Johor’s Malay voters.
Rising dissatisfaction
In the survey, 21% of the respondents who were dissatisfied with the federal government said rising cost of living was the main reason for their dissatisfaction.
This was followed by poor management and administration (14%), corruption (11%), poor economic management (7%), disregard for people’s welfare (5%) and unfairness (4%).
About 55% of the survey respondents were Malay, 38% Chinese and 7% Indian, aged 21 and above. Almost half, or 48%, were aged 21 to 50 years old.
A majority of 66% had a monthly income of RM4,000 and below, with those earning less than RM2,000 making up the largest group of respondents at 36%.
About 63% lived in urban areas and 61% said they were recipients of the People’s Aid Scheme (BR1M).
Chinese respondents showed the highest level of dissatisfaction with the federal government at 72%, while Malays and Indians were almost evenly split at 45% and 44%, respectively.
About 49% Malay and 50% Indian respondents were satisfied.
Similarly, Malays and Indian respondents were satisfied with Najib’s financial stewardship. About 56% Indians thought Najib was doing a good job versus 44% who did not think so.
About 51% Malays were satisfied with Najib and 42% were not. – February 20, 2018.
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Comments
Posted 6 years ago by Bigjoe Lam · Reply
Posted 6 years ago by S T Choo · Reply
Posted 6 years ago by Leslie Chan · Reply
Posted 6 years ago by Tanahair Ku · Reply
trust the government or the opposition, they should depend themselves more. I think all the people who are dissatisfied with the way things are, are just going to see which side is going to give more, not which side is better, before they choose.
Posted 6 years ago by Nehru Sathiamoorthy · Reply