Price hikes slash PM's approval rating by 10 points

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's approval rating had dropped to 52 percent following a series of drastic subsidy cuts that had led to higher cost of living.

According to Merdeka Center's latest survey, Najib's approval rating for December is the lowest since September 2009 (59 percent) and is close to the 45 percent he had in May 2009, a month after taking over as prime minister.

Merdeka Center said that the latest survey was carried out at a time when the government began announcing the rise in petrol prices, abolition of sugar subsidies, efforts to explain the impending Goods and Services Tax (GST), and also the rise in electricity tariff.

Najib's drop in popularity was evident across all major ethnic grpuos and economic background. The most drastic drop was among Indian voters.

In its statement, Merdeka Center also said that concerns over economy recorded its highest-ever number, with 67 percent of respondents expressing their concern.

More than half of the respondents also say they do not understand the impact of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on their lives, and that they do not agree with the statements of the country’s leaders about the economic situation.

“Correspondingly, the number of respondents expressing happiness with the government had also declined to 38 percent from 50 percent in August,” the statement said.

For the perception of the government, Malay voters recorded the biggest reduction, as their perception dropped by a significant 15 percent.

The survey was carried out between Dec 4 and 12, partly coinciding with the Umno general assembly.

One thousand and five registered voters were surveyed via telephone, comprising of 60 percent Malays, 31 percent Chinese and nine percent Indians.

Up and down

Najib's approval rating has rarely dropped below 60 percent since he assumed his post as prime minister in April 2009.

Despite starting with a low approval rating in the first few months of his tenure as premier, a slew of handouts since 2011 had seen his approval rating go up, at times, to above 70 percent. 

It however dropped significantly to 59 percent after the Bersih 2.0 rally in July 2011, the last time his popularity had seen a sharp decline.

However, the announcements of Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M) handouts soon returned his approval ratings at above 60 percent, which was how it remained heading into the 13th general elections.

Two days before the elections, his approval rating stood at 61 percent, and it stood at 62 percent in August, three months after the polls.

Najib's popularity is now back to the levels where he began as PM four years ago.

The respondents' perception towards the government however sees a continuing trend of Najib outscoring the government he leads in terms of popularity.

In most of the recent polls conducted by Merdeka Center, less than half of the respondents were satisfied with the government's performance, though the latest figure of 38 percent is a new low compared to 45 to 50 percent range of approval for the government in the recent past.