For Pakatan, Election 2013 not a stroll in the park
Debra Chong, The Malaysian Insider
As it stands now, the fight for the new voter is split down the centre with Merdeka Center’s latest survey showing half of Election 2013 virgins supportive of Datuk Seri Najib Razak, contrary to perception that first time voters are likely to be Pakatan Rakyat (PR) supporters.
Nearly one in two Malaysians polled between last November and December in the “First-Time Voters Public Opinion Survey” said they were happy with the prime minister’s performance even though only four in 10 said they were satisfied with the Barisan Nasional (BN) government since Najib took over the wheel from Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in April 2009.
The latest findings appear to corroborate the independent pollster’s earlier studies on public rating for the ruling coalition were lagging behind its leader’s despite the slew of cash handouts and a raft of economic and legal reforms introduced over the past four years. In effect, BN would be worse off without Najib’s popularity.
The independent research house had polled 826 newly-registered voters in Peninsular Malaysia aged 21 and above and found Najib being most popular among Indians at 64 per cent compared to six out of 10 Malays and lowest among the Chinese, with six out of 10 saying they were upset with the PM.
In contrast, the BN coalition trailed the PM’s ratings by eight percentage points, with 41 per cent of first-time voters approving it compared to the 49 per cent that backed Najib.
The ruling coalition was even rated one percentage point lower than the first-time voter’s satisfaction with the federal government, which stood at 42 per cent.
Political analysts have suggested that the BN cash in more on Najib’s personal popularity to endear themselves to first-time voters.
The survey also showed a marked split in the issues considered important to each ethnic group, with the Chinese saying they were most concerned about corruption while emotive issues touching on race and religion trumped livelihood issues for the Malays.
More than half of the 561 Malays polled said they wanted more to see politicians debate Malay and equality rights than talk about living costs or corruption.
