Poll shows male, Malay-Muslim PM top concern for Selangor, Perak Malays
(MMO) – Having a male, Malay, Muslim prime minister is the most important issue in the country for 44 per cent of Malays, according to a recent survey conducted in Selangor and Perak by non-governmental organisation Kuasa.
For two out of every five Malays polled in the two states, the gender, race and creed of the government leader takes greater priority than even bread-and-butter issues, Kuasa chief executive Praba Ganesan (pic) told a news conference announcing the outcome of its survey today.
“Malaysians strongly favour a Malay Muslim male prime minister. Nearly half the respondents had this as one of the top three priorities out of the ten options,” he said, without providing the exact figure that supported this assertion.
“Two out of every five Malay respondents had this as their first priority out of 10. As a standalone issue, it is far ahead of all the other priorities,” he added.
The survey asked Malaysians to rank issues according to their personal priority and which Kuasa categorised into one of two fields: symbolic issues or bread-and-butter issues.
The symbolic issues covered a diverse list ranging from having a male Malay Muslim for a prime minister to flying the Malaysian flag on Merdeka Day, standing when the national anthem is played, defending the country’s sovereignty from external threats and memorising the Rukun Negara.
The bread-and-butter issues listed included having sustainable salary, free education up to tertiary level, free healthcare from outpatient to high-risk surgery, affordable housing and affording annual domestic vacation.
The survey found that when respondents were asked to rank the 10 issues according to priority, 58 per cent of the 885 Malays who responded chose symbolic issues over bread-and-butter issues.
In contrast, bread-and-butter issues top the priorities for more than half of the other minority races with 58 per cent of 205 ethnic Chinese ticking that category, followed by 57 per cent of 162 ethnic Indians and 60 per cent of the 36 “other” races who responded.
Extrapolating from the results, Praba said that the importance placed in having Muslim Malay leadership does not bode well for the Pakatan Harapan alliance in Perak and Selangor.
“DAP-led opposition in Perak will be facing an uphill task to regain the state after losing it in 2009 and the 2013 election,” he said.
“Showing a strong Malay spine in the party seems to be a key consideration for voters, so DAP has to show the ability to counter that. If they don’t, then it seems that Perak is safe in the hands of Barisan Nasional,” he added.
As for Selangor, the lack of clarity on whether or not PAS is with the Pakatan Harapan alliance to defend the state in the next election will cause uncertainty, Praba said.
“The Sungai Besar by-election was a sign that uncertainty on Malay leadership will matter as things stand. They will pick up the state but not the same supermajority they won in 2013,” he said.
The survey involved a total of 1,287 respondents made up of 885 Malays, 205 Chinese, 162 Indians and 35 respondents of other races.
The survey took place between August 6 and 14, and August 22 and 28 in 56 towns and villages in Perak and Selangor.
Kuasa however conceded that its survey does not conform to standard survey sampling, as respondents and locations were selected to coincide in tandem with its recent roadshows in both states.
