KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 5 — The majority of residents in Pelangai, Pahang, said they would vote for Barisan Nasional in the by-election to be held there on Saturday, according to a new survey.
Another 43.2 per cent of respondents said they would be voting for Perikatan Nasional (PN), according to the results of the poll titled “Pelangai Memilih: Antara Legasi Dan Perubahan” released today.
“Based on the findings, it was found that the narrative of change brought by PN has not yet been able to penetrate the minds of the voters in the Pelangai constituency, even though there has been an increase in inclination towards PN,” the report of the survey said.
Most of the respondents reported being satisfied with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s performance (57.1 per cent) and a further 3.1 per cent reported feeling very satisfied. Just 16.8 per cent indicated a feeling of dissatisfaction while 3.8 per cent said they were very dissatisfied.
Similarly, the majority reported satisfaction (69 per cent) and great satisfaction (11.9 per cent) with the Pahang menteri besar while only 8.4 per cent were dissatisfied and 2.6 per cent very dissatisfied.
“Previously it was difficult to gain the trust of Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) people, but now it seems that the Felda people are becoming warmer towards PMX and the need for cooperation in the unity government.
“The strength of the state government backed by a strong positive perception of the Prime Minister has a significant impact on the perception and inclination of the people of Pelangai towards the BN campaign,” the report said.
All three of the Felda settlements in Pelangai reported more satisfaction than dissatisfaction with Anwar. Sungai Kemasul’s residents were 46.73 per cent satisfied, 1.87 per cent very satisfied, 25.23 per cent dissatisfied, and 10.28 per cent very dissatisfied. For Chemomoi, it was 63.68 per cent satisfied, 2.99 per cent dissatisfied, 11.54 per cent dissatisfied, and 3.42 per cent very dissatisfied. As for Sungai Kemahal, it was 51.92 per cent satisfied, 4.81 per cent very satisfied, 30.77 per cent dissatisfied and 0.96 per cent very dissatisfied.
When asked about the incumbent Pelangai assemblyman the late Datuk Seri Johari Harun and whether his performance there had been good, 71.3 per cent agreed while another 21.8 per cent indicated strong agreement. Only 2.1 per cent disagreed and 4.8 per cent indicated strong disagreement.
The survey was carried out by academics in Pelangai, Pahang, from September 29 to October 2 ahead of the by-election there this Saturday. It had 1,772 respondents.
About a quarter (25.4 per cent) of respondents were aged 31 to 40 years old, 21.05 per cent were aged 41 to 50, 18.74 per cent from the ages of 21 to 30, 11.68 per cent aged 61 and above, and 8.07 per cent were between 18 to 20 years old.
About 86.9 per cent of respondents were Malay, while 10.5 per cent were ethnic Chinese and the remaining were ethnic Indians.
Around 22.69 per cent of respondents were unemployed, 20.88 per cent worked in businesses, 20.03 per cent were farmers or fishermen, 14.39 per cent students, 13.71 per cent worked in the private sector, 5.98 per cent worked in the government and 2.31 per cent were retired.
More than half of the respondents (52 per cent) had a monthly income from RM1,500 to RM3,000, while 37.9 per cent earned from RM1,001 to RM1,500.
The survey was carried out by Shahrill Sabarudin, Universiti Malaya’s Awang Azman Awang Pawi, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s Novel Anak Lyndon and Suffian Mansor, and Nasrullah Mappatang.
The Pelangai by-election was called following Johari’s death in a plane crash in Shah Alam, Selangor on August 17.
This Saturday, BN candidate Datuk Amizar Abu Adam will face off with former Umno member Haslihelmy DM Zulhasli and PAS’ Kasim Samat, a teacher.
Haslihelmy was sacked from Umno following his decision to contest in Pelangai while Kasim had previously contested the Pelangai seat in the 15th general election (GE15) held last year.
In GE15, Johari who represented BN, won with a 4,048-vote majority to defeat Kasim, PH’s Ahmed Wafiuddin and Pejuang candidate Isa Ahmad.
Johari’s predecessor Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob held the Pelangai state seat from 1986 to 2022 and was the Pahang menteri besar from 1999 to 2018.
The composition of Pahang state assembly seats after GE15 saw BN and Perikatan Nasional each have 17 seats while PH won eight seats.
The Pahang government was formed after BN and PH teamed up at the state level, to reflect the cooperation at the federal level
