THE positive buzz generated by the Pakatan Harapan victory at the last elections is dying down as the new administration inches towards 100 days in power, said a global research institute.

According to the Ipsos global research institute, though 66% of Malaysians polled think the country is still on the right track, that number is lower than the 75% in the early weeks after the 14th general election (GE14).

The PH government’s efforts, such as zero-rating GST, have brought down worries about inflation among Malaysians.

However, as the new government passes its 100-day milestone on Friday, Ipsos said, it should focus on unemployment and crime as they are the second and third most concerns among Malaysians. 

“The top three concerns that we see among Malaysians are corruption, unemployment and jobs and crime and violence,” said Arun Menon, managing director of Ipsos who presented the findings at Ipsos headquarters today.

Arun said although the concern of financial and political corruption has reduced, it still remains a problem.

“Although we see lot of revelations (such as the crackdown of corruption scandals) happening, this remained a concern among Malaysians.

“The reason being every other day, there is a new revelation, so every week you have different things.

As such, Arun said, the government should be clearer on how to restore the people’s integrity and trust.

“The key point is what are the next steps the government should take and how to make sure this will not happen again.”

On unemployment and crime, Arun said the concern was due to the GE14 hype dying down and people returning to their day-to-day problems.

“When it comes to unemployment and jobs, this is the area that the government should be focusing on because it affects the people’s daily lives.

“After the election excitement, people start to focus on the day-to-day thing which is jobs crime and violence, and moral decline.”

Ipsos’ annual survey was conducted between April and July to compare pre- and post-GE14 sentiments.

Up until July, 35,000 people have been interviewed with 5,000 interviewed each month based on the same profile and background. – August 14, 2018.