Survey: 49pct support BN at federal level

Nearly half of Malaysians would vote for Barisan Nasional (BN) in the upcoming general election, a survey by Universiti Malaya Centre for Democracy and Elections (UMCEDEL) has found.

The findings seem to suggest that Pakatan has a long way to go before capturing Putrajaya, and that fence-sitting voters will play a key role in the upcoming election.

In addition, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s various policies have found broad support, with up to two-thirds of respondents expressing favour.

The survey found that at the federal level, BN had the support of almost half the electorate at 49 percent, while Pakatan Rakyat only managed 21 percent.

A large portion of voters remained fence-sitters, with 30 percent of respondents unsure of their support.

Respondents were also asked if various programmes initiated by Najib would increase their support towards BN.

Among other things, 68 percent of respondents voiced approval of his Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia programme, while a whopping 74 percent approved of the 1Malaysia Clinic programme.

The results further complicate Pakatan’s ambitions of forming the federal government after the next general election, given the electorate’s embrace of the prime minister’s various initiatives.

Pakatan strong in Selangor, slipping in Perak

A majority of Chinese and Indians would vote for Pakatan in Selangor, but Malay support is split evenly between Pakatan and BN, the survey found.

Sixty percent of Indians and 49 percent of Chinese respondents said they would support Pakatan in the state, compared to just 20 percent and 16 percent in favour of BN.

However, both parties have similar support among the Malays, with BN having a slight edge at 34 percent to Pakatan’s 33 percent.

Meanwhile in Perak, Pakatan faces an uphill battle to recapture the state it won in 2008, before BN wrested it back in 2009.

BN obtained the majority support of every race, with Indian support particularly high at 67 percent. In contrast, Pakatan only managed 5 percent with Indians.

The ruling coalition also has an edge with Malay and Chinese voters, with 36 percent and 35 percent to Pakatan’s 30 percent for both races respectively.

However, just as many Malay and Chinese voters remain undecided at 34 percent and 35 percent, suggesting that Pakatan still has a shot at reclaiming the state in the next general election.

The survey also found Pakatan retaining support in Kelantan, with 44 percent of respondents in its favour to BN’s 27 percent.

In Kedah, Pakatan captured the majority support of Chinese and Malay respondents, while BN was much more popular with Indians.

The survey was conducted among 2,282 randomly-chosen respondents in proportion to the racial breakdown of the country.

It has a margin of error of about 2.1% and was conducted between March 30 and April 15.

The full findings of the survey can be accessed here.