Foreign-funded Organization Begets Unreliable Research
Citizen Times
On October 22nd, the Gallup 2013 survey conducted by an American research-based and global performance management consulting company released its results, which showed that most Malaysians trust the judicial system and the courts. In fact, the survey showed that 70 per cent of Malaysians polled expressed confidence in the rule of law in Malaysia, 27 per cent had no confidence, and the rest said they did not know or refused to answer. The 70 per cent confidence level in the judiciary is the highest among five Southeast Asian countries that took part in the survey. Thais and Vietnamese showed a 66 per cent confidence level while only 61% Filipinos trusted the judicial system and the courts. Only 53% Indonesians trusted their system.
Eight days later, Merdeka Centre announced its results of a survey conducted between October 11 and 26. How did they analyze their data in THREE days, compile into a report, and then issue a press release on the fourth day after the survey ended?
Note that the Gallup 2013 survey was conducted by TNS (formerly Frank Small Associates) Malaysia, an international research company with a very good award-winning track record. The CEO of TNS Asia-Pacific has been with TNS since 1971. It took them months to analyze the data from a sample of 1000 people interviewed through phone calls made in Bahasa Malaysia, English, and Chinese between Sept 17 and Nov 29 last year.
On the other hand, our super duper Speedy Gonzales Merdeka Centre could analyze the data from 1005 people in THREE working days. Very dodgy indeed!!
What is more worrying is the inaccuracies in the latest statement of Merdeka Centre.
Merdeka Centre’s Claims:
#1. Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s approval rating slipped six percentage points to 48% this month from the last survey done in August.
#2. Najib scored a 54% approval rating in August, after he took charge of operations to recover the flight MH17 wreckage, its black boxes and victims, when the Malaysia Airlines plane was shot down over Ukraine in July.
A visit to Merdeka Centre’s official site revealed that the two latest polls conducted were:
A. Public Opinion Survey 2014 b. Public Opinion Survey 2014
Peninsular Malaysia Voter Survey Peninsular Malaysia Voter Survey
PM Job Approval Rating 11th October – 26th October 2014
9th – 17th June 2014
The title for research (a) is already not just a mouthful but highly suspicious. For a study that has two sections in its scope, the report has only EIGHT pages. The report for research (b) is 18 pages long.
Nowhere in its website was there any survey conducted in August. What can you make of a centre for opinion research that cannot even get its facts in order, dates for surveys correct and even research findings correct? If there was such a survey, why didn’t Merdeka Centre upload it? When was the press release for the August Study to prove that there was such an alleged study?
The last study conducted by Merdeka Centre before its alleged one in October was conducted from 9th to 17thJune and released in July. Its report clearly showed 48% of the respondents were satisfied with the PM – exactly the SAME result as the alleged October poll. Please see the following diagram. Hence, its latest statement issued on 30th October about the Prime Minister’s rankings is factually WRONG.
