Survey: Support for Harapan in Semenyih dips below 50pct

Support for Pakatan Harapan in the Semenyih state constituency has diminished, according to a survey by a Selangor government think-tank.

Institute Darul Ehsan (IDE) found that the coalition would only obtain 46 percent of the votes in the upcoming by-election.

This reflected close to a five percent drop compared to the 50.76 percent of votes secured by the late Harapan candidate Bakhtiar Mohd Nor in the 14th general election.

Of the 1,142 polled, 37 percent of the voters expressed support for BN.

Another 12 percent supported other candidates while the remaining five percent would cast their ballots for independent candidates.

Speaking at a press conference in Shah Alam this afternoon, IDE deputy chairperson Mohammad Redzuan Othman said the findings showed that "there is no clear winner".

"(Despite) Harapan leading by nearly 10 percent (compared to BN), it has yet to cross the winning (margin).

"The battleground lies on those (respondents) who claimed they would vote for other candidates and independent candidates," he added.

However, he noted that the five percent decrease in support for Harapan is 'normal'.

The survey was conducted between Jan 31 and Feb 1.

The March 2 by-election is being held following the death of Bakhtiar, who defeated candidates from BN, PAS and PSM in a four-cornered fight with a majority of 8,964 votes. He garnered 23,428 votes.

This time around, BN and PAS have formed an unofficial alliance while PSM is also contesting the seat.

60 pct support same party as GE14 

The findings also showed that 60 percent of the respondents would vote for the same party as they had in the 14th general eleciton.

More than half of respondents polled said they had family members who were eligible to vote who stayed outside the state constituency. 

Nevertheless, 84 percent of them were positive that their family members would return home to vote.

The main grouses of locals are potholes in roads, crime, lack of street lights and clogged drains.

Additionally, the rising cost of living and weak economy are the major concerns of voters in Semenyih.

The same research also showed that Pakatan Harapan continues to enjoy the support of some 40 percent of Malay voters, over 80 percent of Chinese voters and over 70 percent of Indian voters.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad appeared not to be garnering the majority of the support of Malay community due to unpopular measures and policies, which included appointing Tommy Thomas as the attorney-general.

Redzuan also noted the choice of candidate is important and will play some role in influencing voting trends.

When asked if support for Harapan had been affected by the recent scandal surrounding fake degrees or a perceived inability to fulfil its election manifesto, he said the voters would still want to give a chance to the ruling governemnt.

According to him, people are more lenient to the new government as it is in the early stages of its administration.

Things would be different once the administration reaches the mid-term stage, he said.  - Mkini