Najib’s approval ratings up, BN stagnant in November, says survey

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 14 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s approval ratings improved to 65 per cent in November, a month after the prime minister announced Budget 2013, from 64 per cent in May this year, according to a survey published today.

The Merdeka Center for Opinion Research said the survey found that satisfaction with the prime minister markedly improved among voters under the age of 30 — increasing from 61 per cent in May to 68 per cent in November.

Najib’s ratings have gone up by one per cent — from 64 per cent in May to 65 per cent in November.

“This improvement is likely due to the increased attention to this segment of voters which has been promised direct cash aid, book vouchers, rebates to purchase smartphones as well as numerous programmes such as job fairs, social activities and entertainment events,” Merdeka Center said in a media statement.

The survey showed that for households earning between RM1,500 and RM3,000 a month, Najib’s approval ratings rose from 69 per cent in May to 74 per cent in November.

His approval rating among Chinese voters also shot up, climbing from 37 per cent last May to 46 per cent in November.

But the survey also found that satisfaction among lower income respondents (from households with less than RM1,500 monthly incomes) fell from 82 per cent last May, to 70 per cent in November 2012.

The survey also noted a slide from among Malay voters in general from 79 per cent to 75 per cent over the same period.

Among Indian voters, the prime minister’s approval ratings dipped from 72 per cent in May to 68 per cent in November.

His approval ratings among voters aged between 30 and 40 also fell from 65 per cent last May to 59 per cent in November.

However, the same survey found that voters’ views of the government continued to remain lukewarm, with only 48 per cent of respondents reporting that “they were happy with the government”. This figure is unchanged compared to May.

“Among Malay voters, responses of those saying (they were) ‘happy’ with the government declined slightly from 65 per cent to 63 per cent but figures among Indian respondents improved from to 46 per cent to 52 per cent between May and November 2012 respectively,” the independent pollster said.

The survey was carried out by the Merdeka Center for Opinion Research between October 22 and November 20 to “gauge voters’ perceptions of current developments in the country”.

“Hence this survey took place prior to the recent Umno general assembly,” Merdeka Center added.

It said that a total of 1,018 registered voters comprising 59 per cent Malay, 32 per cent Chinese and nine per cent Indian respondents were interviewed by telephone in the poll.

The respondents were selected on the basis of random stratified sampling along ethnicity, gender and state of residence.