Survey: 80.3 percent of youths think EC isn't fair and independent

GE14 | Some 80.3 percent of youths do not think that the Election Commission (EC) is fair and independent, according to a preliminary survey by the Centre For Public Policy Studies (CPPS).

This is according to a survey of 269 respondents aged between 21 and 30, which was conducted across Peninsular Malaysia from April 1 to April 26. 

The survey also found that 45.33 percent of the respondents did not vote in the last general election.

However, of this, 64.71 percent now say they will in the 14th general election. 23.53 percent say they will still refrain from voting, while 11.76 percent are undecided.

According to the survey, 7.06 percent of respondents were happy with how the country is governed, compared to 92.94 percent who were unhappy.

However, this number increases at the state level, with 38.66 percent saying they are happy with how their state or federal territory is governed, and 48.33 percent being happy with how their town or city is governed.

In terms of issues, the top five items on their minds are the elimination of corruption, reducing living costs, improving the quality of education, improving safety and crime prevention, and greater access to affordable healthcare.

Other findings are as follows:

Issues

- 7.43 percent of respondents indicated that they supported a race-based quota system in public

universities, 79.93 percent did not support it, while 12.64 percent were undecided or had no opinion.

- 62.08 percent did not support the moderation of Internet freedom, as exemplified by the Anti-Fake News Act 2018.

- 21.19 percent supported replacing the GST with the SST, 25.65 percent did not support such a change, while 53.16 percent were undecided or had no opinion.

- 62.45 percent supported greater autonomy for Sabah and Sarawak.

- 74.72 percent did not support laws which allow detention without trial.

- 56.13 percent supported extending elections to the local government level.

- 30.48 percent supported abolishing petrol subsidies and implementing a price float, 33.83 percent were against it, and 35.69 percent were undecided or had no opinion.

- Putting aside whether claims are true or false, 91.08 percent of respondents acknowledge that issues like 1MDB and other alleged scandals of corruption worry them.

Perception

- 55.39 percent of respondents disagreed and strongly disagreed that Malaysia has a fair legal system.

- 57.99 percent of respondents disagreed and strongly disagreed that Malaysia’s education system is improving.

- 80.3 percent of respondents disagreed and strongly disagreed that the EC is fair and independent.

- 84.75 percent of respondents disagreed and strongly disagreed that the police are free of political interference.

- 81.05 percent of respondents agreed and strongly agreed that they were worried about the difficulty of purchasing a home.

- 94.42 percent of respondents viewed current levels of corruption in Malaysia as high and very high.

- 75.84 percent of respondents viewed current levels of crime in Malaysia as high and very high.

- 7.06 percent were happy with how the country is being governed, while 92.94 percent were not.

- 38.66 percent were happy with how their state or federal territory is being governed, and 61.34 percent were not.

- 48.33 percent were happy with how their towns/cities are being governed, while 51.67 percent were not.

Manifestos

- 59.85 percent of respondents indicated that they know of Pakatan Harapan’s plans if they win GE14.

- 42.75 percent of respondents indicated that they know of BN’s plans if they win GE14.

Voting trends

- At the point in time when the survey was conducted, 46.10 percent of respondents did not know where their polling station was.

- 67.66 percent of respondents were aware of the EC’s recent redelineation exercise.

- 19.7 percent of respondents were not registered to vote, despite being of the eligible age.

- 19.33 percent indicated they would not be voting, while 7.81 percent were undecided.

- Of all the respondents who had been eligible to vote during GE13, 45.33 percent did not vote in the last general election.

- However, of all respondents who did not vote in GE13, 64.71 percent will be

voting in the coming GE14, 23.53 percent will still not be voting, and 11.76 percent are undecided.

- 50.19 percent of respondents indicated that they will not vote for a party if they do not know a candidate’s background, while 30.11 percent said they will still vote despite not knowing a candidate, with the remaining 19.7 percent undecided.

- When asked if they will vote for a candidate regardless of which party he or she is from, 43.87 percent of respondents indicated “yes”, 42.75 percent said “no”, and 13.75 percent were undecided. - Mkini