Survey: Only one in four Malays satisfied with Anwar

STATE POLLS | A survey has suggested that only one in four Malays in the six states having elections this Saturday were satisfied with Anwar Ibrahim's performance as prime minister.

This was according to the survey of 2,416 respondents in Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah, Negeri Sembilan, Selangor and Penang conducted by Ilham Centre in July.

The respondents were chosen through random stratified sampling.

Only 24 percent of Malay respondents said they were satisfied with Anwar, while the approval rating among the Chinese (88 percent) and Indians (81 percent) was overwhelmingly positive.

Overall, only 42 percent of the respondents were satisfied with Anwar's performance.

Respondents from Kelantan were the most dissatisfied with Anwar, with 90 percent stating that they disapproved, followed by Terengganu (79 percent) and Kedah (73 percent).

Conversely, Anwar's approval was the highest in his home state of Penang (70 percent), followed by Selangor (62 percent) and Negeri Sembilan (62 percent).

However, respondents appeared to decouple the performance of the state government from that of the prime minister.

Respondents in Penang, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan scored their state governments better in welfare, economic direction, clean water, waste management and land management, compared to their counterparts in Kelantan, Kedah and Terengganu.

Notably, only 57 percent of respondents agreed that the Kelantan government should be maintained in the upcoming state election. This is the lowest rating among all states.

The figure is slightly higher for Terengganu (61.4 percent) and Kedah (66 percent). In Penang, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan, the vast majority of respondents agreed that the state government should be maintained.

When the respondents were asked if they would vote for the Pakatan Harapan-BN pact, a significant number in Kelantan (52 percent) and Terengganu (40 percent) replied that they were "unsure".

The proportion of respondents from Kedah who replied "unsure" to the same question was significantly fewer at 21 percent.

However, in Penang, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan, the majority of respondents said they were prepared to vote for the Harapan-BN pact.

Meanwhile, Ilham Centre said that the survey indicated that respondents were polarised along political, ethnic and regional lines.

"If this survey were to be reflected on Aug 12, the Malay-majority seats in the northern and eastern regions will likely be won by Perikatan Nasional while the Harapan-BN pact will do well in the non-Malay majority and mixed areas.

"However, some voters might consider other factors such as the candidate and the performance of the state government before deciding.

"This survey concludes that regional and ethnic polarisation will become more pronounced after this election," said Ilham Centre. - Mkini