THUMBS DOWN! It's not MCA but you - Najib & Umno! Chinese will never forgive your racial snub

As expected, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak is far from being the toast of the Chinese community.

A survey by Merdeka Centre revealed that only 18 percent of those polled from the community are satisfied with his performance.

Whereas, only 13 percent believe that the country is headed in the right direction under his stewardship. Overall, 39 percent involving all ethnic groups say the country is headed in the right direction while 47 percent say it is going in the wrong direction.

As for the perception towards the government along ethnic lines, the survey found that only 11 percent of the Chinese respondents expressed "happiness".

Out of the 1,800 polled, 30 percent of the respondents were Chinese,

60 percent were Malays, whereas the remaining 10 percent were Indians.

The percentages could have dipped further if the survey, which was conducted in January, had been carried out this month following Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob's call on the Malays to boycott Chinese traders.

Since the 2008 general election, the Chinese have drawn the ire of Umno for throwing their lot behind the last general election.

Following the lack of action on Ismail, PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli claimed that the Chinese are now a community whose sentiments no longer have political value to Umno.

As for Najib's support among the Malay community, it remains unchanged for four consecutive monthly surveys since October last year, at 58 percent.

On another note, the overall sentiment of the Malay community about the country's direction improved, with 54 percent believing the country is on the right track, up five percent from last month.

This is also reflected in perception towards the government, with 52 percent of the Malay community saying they are happy, an improvement of two percent.

There is some good news for the premier though, as his support among the Indian community improved slightly from 39 percent to 44 percent.

Nonetheless, the community's view of the government remains unchanged, with 34 percent expressing happiness with the government.

However, the Indian community's view on whether the country was on the right direction fell to 26 percent compared to 29 percent. - Mkini