As economy bites, more say unhappy with BN government, survey finds
Ibrahim Suffian of Merdeka Center
(Malay Mail Online) – A new survey by independent pollster Merdeka Center has found that nearly four out of five Malaysians are unhappy with the government, largely due to its handling of the economy,
According to a report in Singapore’s Straits Times today, the survey released earlier this week found that Malaysians’ overall happiness with the government has been on the decline since the 2013 polls, when it averaged at about 50 per cent.
Last year, said the report, support dipped to stay mostly at below 40 per cent.
This, however, plunged further to 23 per cent in the middle of this year.
The survey, which according to the ST was conducted among Peninsular Malaysia voters over the month of August, also found that when it came to the government’s handling of the economy, dissatisfaction has risen from under 60 per cent for the most of last year to 78 per cent this year.
“We reckon that such unhappiness will persist through 2016, judging from further subsidy withdrawals. Tackling unemployment could be a challenging issue in 2016,” ST quoted UOB KayHian research head Vincent Khoo as saying in a report yesterday.
“Given that the federal government used to hire 60,000 new graduates annually, the ongoing downsizing by many banks, and small and medium-sized enterprises could affect employment,” he added.
According to ST, this feeling of unhappiness is also felt by the Malays, a key vote bank for Barisan Nasional (BN) lynchpin Umno, with support going from 50 per cent last year to a new low of 31 per cent.
Citing the survey, Singapore daily said this was mostly due to the economy, with more than two-thirds of respondents listing it as the main issue.
Among the Chinese, the BN government only has 5 per cent of support, the daily added.
It said that the survey also showed that the Chinese were more aware of the troubles surrounding troubled state-investment firm 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
According to ST, Merdeka Center briefed financial sector analysts last week on the results of the survey, which has yet to be released to the media here.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and BN has been rocked with internal conflict over numerous issues, chiefly the 1MDB controversy, which has been occupying headlines around the world in recent months.
On home soil, leaders both in the opposition and BN have been separately campaigning for Najib’s removal, with some alleging that his continued leadership would hamper the country’s ability to overcome a local and global economic slowdown.
