KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 10 — Six in 10 of Malay respondents from the six states with elections this weekend did not understand the policies of Malaysia Madani introduced by the Anwar administration, a study by pollster Ilham Centre revealed.
The report released today said that only 39 per cent of Malays from Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu, Penang, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan can grasp the government's intent, compared to 61 per cent of ethnic Chinese, 55 per cent of ethnic Indians, and 75 per cent of other groups.
Overall, 45 per cent of the total respondents from the six states said that they could understand the policies while 55 per cent said they could not.
"With only a few months into governance, the acceptance percentage is good for the government. However, information should be channelled actively, especially the government’s message to the rural areas,” the study said.
The survey also found that Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s popularity among non-Malays voters is higher as compared to the Malays in the six states, with 76 per cent of Malays saying they are not satisfied with the prime minister’s performance.
However, 88 per cent of the ethnic Chinese and 81 per cent of ethnic Indian respondents said that they are satisfied with Anwar's performance.
Overall, the number of respondents from the six states who were satisfied with Anwar’s performance stood at just 42 per cent.
Ilham Centre said the response was skewed by responses it got from the states held by Perikatan Nasional (PN) and its component PAS — Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu — where respondents showed relatively low level of satisfaction with Anwar.
"This means that voters in the Opposition states are still sceptical about all the efforts made by the prime minister,” the study said.
The study titled "The level of people’s acceptance of Unity Government and Malaysia Madani policies: Focus on six states ahead of the 15th general state elections" involved 2,416 respondents from the six states.
The survey was conducted from July 11 to July 27, with 102 respondents involved in in-depth interviews and focus group discussions which included groups of young people, local leaders and women. Ilham Centre also said that the data from face-to-face sessions were collected by enumerators using surveys and semi-structured interview protocols.
Voters in the six states will go to the ballots on Saturday.
In February, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim scored a 68 per cent approval rating, which was lower than when Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad took office in 2018 and 2020.
According to independent pollster Merdeka Center's latest survey titled "Perceptions Towards Economy, Leadership and Current Issues Post GE15", 53 per cent of respondents said they were "somewhat satisfied" which Anwar's performance while 15 per cent were "very satisfied" with his performance thus far.
