Still a ways to go for Najib
Analysis by The Malaysian Insider
Yes, his approval rating is up. Yes, the majority of Malaysians have confidence in his handling of the economy. Yes, nearly 50 per cent of Malaysians believe that he makes a better prime minister than Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
But before Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his comrades in Umno/Barisan Nasional start believing that the ruling coalition is back in the groove, and that Malaysians are once again firm believers in BN, they should pause and study some of the nuggets of information thrown up by the survey on 100 days of the Najib administration.
Malaysians are at best ambivalent whether the country’s sixth PM will be able to bring about reforms needed by the country. They also have not seen much evidence that institutions like the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and the judiciary will bloom under his leadership.
The poll of 1,060 registered voters in Peninsular Malaysia by Merdeka Center was carried out between June 19 and July 1. It shows that 65 per cent of those polled are satisfied with Najib’s performance since he became prime minister on April 3.
When the polling institute conducted a survey in mid-May, Najib only obtained an approval rating of 46 per cent. A significant segment of the respondents then were undecided, unwilling to give their stamp of approval until some of the flowery rhetoric which all new Malaysian leaders spout was matched with deeds and disturbed by the baggage which accompanied him into office.
In the recent survey, the percentage of undecided has dropped to 13 per cent. What this means is that some fence-sitters have decided to support Najib, persuaded perhaps by his firmer leadership and efforts to dismantle some affirmative action economic programmes.
And turned off by the seemingly endless disagreements and bickering among Pakatan Rakyat partners.
But the support for the Najib administration is not without qualifiers.
