Malaysians uncertain over country’s future direction during Pakatan’s administration, survey finds

(feedly.com) – More than half of Malaysians were unsure on whether the country’s future was headed towards the right direction in a poll conducted during the previous Pakatan Harapan administration.

The poll by Emir Research, conducted between Jan 15 and Feb 24 this year, showed that 55% out of the 2,002 poll respondents were unsure on whether the country’s future direction was on the right track.

The other 25% of the respondents felt that the country was headed towards the wrong direction.

Meanwhile, 20% of poll participants felt that the country was headed in the right direction.

Emir Research is an independent think-tank, focused on strategic policy recommendations based on rigorous research.

In a previous poll by Emir Research conducted in November 2019, only 50% of the respondents said they were unsure on whether the country’s future direction was on the right track.

However, 24% felt that the country’s future direction was on the wrong track.

When broken down to ethnic groups, 56% of the Chinese respondents felt unsure on whether the country was headed in the right track – the same percentage seen for Indian respondents – with 55% of Malay and other bumiputras feeling the same way.

Despite over half of the survey respondents feeling unsure on whether the country’s future was headed in the right direction, 50% of the respondents felt that their living conditions in Malaysia will be better in the future.

Only 13% of the respondents felt that living conditions in the country would not improve, while 37% of the respondents were unsure on the matter.

Urban dwellers were more pessimistic compared to their counterparts in rural areas – with 46% of respondents living in urban areas agreeing with the statement that their living conditions will be better in the future as compared to 57% of respondents in rural areas.

When it comes to the economy, 36% of the respondents felt that the country’s economy was not on a strong footing.

Only 19% of the respondents felt that the country’s economy was doing well, while 45% of the respondents were unsure.

Broken by ethnicities, only 14% of Malay and other bumiputra respondents felt that the country’s economy was on a strong footing, compared to 33% of the Chinese respondents and 34% of Indian participants.