Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad suffered a significant slide in public approval, down 37 percent, as the Pakatan Harapan coalition approaches one year in office, according to the Merdeka Center.
Releasing the result of their March survey, the Merdeka Center revealed that Mahathir, who scored a high of 83 percent last May not long after taking office, has seen his popularity drop to just 46 percent.
This also represented a sizable drop from the 71 percent approval rating he scored in August, last year, as Pakatan Harapan approached 100 days in government.
The ruling coalition did not fare any better with the pollster revealing that approval rating for Harapan government fell from 79 percent to 39 percent from May 31, 2018, to March 11, 2019. – mkini
Pakatan approval rating 39%, Dr Mahathir down to 46%, says Merdeka Centre
PRIME Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s popularity rating has dropped to 46% from 71% recorded last August, said pollster Merdeka Centre based on its latest survey.
The survey also showed only 39% of Malaysian voters gave the Pakatan Harapan federal government positive ratings, just weeks short of its first year in power.
“The decline in public support for the administration can also be seen in the number of voters who felt the country was headed in the wrong direction that increased from 24% in August to 46% in March.
“The decline in ratings are likely to be attributable to three factors – condition of the economy perceived by ordinary consumers, perceived performance of the administration, and concerns over Malay rights and privileges as well as fair treatment of the other races in Malaysia.
“As a result, public satisfaction in the government’s management of the economy has fallen from 60% in August to 40% in March,” Merdeka Centre said in a statement today.
The survey was carried out between March 5 and 11 to gauge voter perceptions towards the economy, and current leadership and issues.
A total of 1,204 registered voters comprising Malay (52%), Chinese (29%), Indian (7%), Muslim Bumiputera (6%), Non-Muslim Bumiputera from Sabah and Sarawak (6%) were interviewed.
The poll was funded by the centre’s internally generated financial resources.
Merdeka Centre reported the survey also indicated that only 34% of voters believed that the country was heading in the right direction, compared to 55% last August.
“This sentiment was more acute among Malay voters where only 24% felt the country was headed in the right direction.”
Some 40% of voters expressed satisfaction in the way the government is managing the economy now, down from 60% last August while 46% of voters were satisfied with the prime minister compared to 71% last August.
A total of 67% of those surveyed agreed the ruling pact needed more time to fulfil its election pledges.
The Pakatan Harapan government is set to celebrate its first year in power on May 9 after its historic win in last year’s general election.
Since then, the government has come under fire for failing to keep its election promises as well as to reduce the cost of living. – THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT
Economy, racial issues top concerns of voters, says survey
THE economic situation of the nation as well as the fragile racial ties among the people remain the major concerns of voters in a latest survey done by pollster Merdeka Centre.
It said that 63% of those surveyed had picked economy as a major concern, consistent with previous surveys.
This was followed by concerns over race-related issues such as the controversy over the Seafield Hindu temple relocation and the public debate over the proposed ratification of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD).
When asked to respond from a fixed list of issue items, the survey found that concerns over unfavourable economic condition as well as inflation or cost of living remained high at 54%.
Concerns over racial matters such as preservation of Malay rights and fair treatment of others was significant at 23%.
“Concerns over corruption had declined from 33% to 23% in August 2018,” said a statement from Merdeka Centre.
“An overwhelming majority of voters (67%) agreed that the administration should be given more time to fulfill its election promises.
“This figure also includes a majority, 52% of Malay voters who had largely been more critical of the new administration,” it said.
The survey was carried out between March 5 and 11 to gauge voter perceptions towards the economy, and current leadership and issues.
A total of 1,204 registered voters comprising Malay (52%), Chinese (29%), Indian (7%), Muslim Bumiputera (6%), Non-Muslim Bumiputera from Sabah and Sarawak (6%) were interviewed.
The poll was funded by the centre’s internally generated financial resources.
The survey also found that voters were not keen to abolish the death penalty, neither are they supportive of the introduction of the sugar tax.
Some 69% disagreed with the abolition of mandatory death penalty while 55% opposed the tax on sugary beverages.
Respondents were almost equal in their stand for lowering the voting age to 18 years old, with 48% in support and 50% not.
Likewise, 40% supported the policy to abolish exams for Year 1 to 3, with 54% disagreeing.
However, 85% supported the introduction of new laws to punish insults against other races and religions. Some 12% objected to this. THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT
-MKINI / THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.