Gov't must take note of 'widespread Malay unhappiness', says DPM

The government must take note of the reported widespread dissatisfaction among the Malays regarding Pakatan Harapan's performance, Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said.

Commenting on a survey where 60 percent of the Malay respondents were displeased with the current administration, she said there must be a balance between populism and priorities in policymaking.

“I read the survey. We must listen to the woes and opinions of the rakyat, and take steps to see if (their perception) is real or imagined.

“The majority of Malaysians are Malays, so when they say the majority of them (are unhappy), we have to take note.

“We have to balance between wanting to do what is popular yet having to consider what the country needs, what needs to be done for the economy and take care of stability (of the country),” Wan Azizah told reporters in Pandan this morning.

The survey, conducted by Ilham Centre together with Penang Institute, also found that 54.4 percent of the respondents did not believe the government was serious about the “Malay agenda”, including upholding Malay rights and Islam as the official religion.

More than 60 percent of the respondents believed that non-Muslims were now in control of the government and that DAP was calling the shots in Putrajaya.

The survey interviewed 2,614 Malay respondents between Oct 24 and Dec 24, 2018.

The detailed findings:

• 59.5 percent of the respondents disagreed that they were satisfied with the performance of the Harapan government since the 14th general election, versus 40.8 percent who agreed;
  
• 54.4 percent agreed the Harapan government was ignoring Malay rights and Islamic interests, while 45.1 percent disagreed;
  
• 50.1 percent thought that Harapan was not serious about fulfilling its election manifesto, compared with 49.8 percent who said the ruling coalition was serious on this;
  
• 58.3 percent believed that the federal government was not serious in dealing with the cost of living problems;
  
• 62.9 percent agreed that non-Muslims now controlled the federal government after May 9, as against 37.2 percent who disagreed;
  
• 62 percent believed that the DAP dominated the government’s decisions over other Harapan component parties, while 38 percent did not; and
  
• 58.9 percent think that the federal government is being driven by a liberal agenda, versus 41.1 percent who disagreed. - Mkini