PM: Poll shows most Malaysians happy with Harapan's 100 days

A survey has revealed that most Malaysians are satisfied with the Pakatan Harapan government's performance in its first 100 days in power, according to Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

This is despite the coalition falling short on delivering some of its promises.

Mahathir said the survey, conducted towards the end of the 100-day period, was discussed during the Harapan presidential council meeting today.

“The survey found that the positive regard for Harapan's rule exceeded the negative,” he told a press conference in Petaling Jaya after the meeting.

Mahathir did not elaborate on the survey or its findings, except that it was conducted by analytics firm Berkshire Media and that it had involved contacting 487,000 people.

According to the prime minister, among the areas that the government appeared to do poorly in the survey is the area of transportation.

However, a more in-depth look revealed that the dissatisfaction was towards the high cost of projects such as the LRT and MRT, rather than the available facilities.

Another area where the government did poorly in the survey is in combatting corruption, where it is felt that the government has made little progress.

Mahathir said there is also a perception that the government is focusing on major corruption cases at the expense of smaller but clear-cut incidents of corruption.

He said the delays are because it takes time to gather sufficient evidence to prosecute a case. In addition, he said, the government would ensure that smaller cases of corruption would be prosecuted as well.

On the other hand, areas that the government is deemed to have performed well include overturning “unfair” laws, enacting new ones and introducing the SST scheme.

Asked why the SST-related bills had been rushed through the Dewan Negara whereas the Anti-Fake News (Repeal) Bill 2018 debates had stopped mid-way to allow debates on the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s royal address, Mahathir said this was the government’s prerogative.

“It is the right of the government to determine priorities. We’d have to get through certain things first, but where there is no urgency, we can postpone taking action on those matters,” he said. 

- Mkini