KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 22 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s government was rated higher than previous administration on efforts to rein in corruption in the country, according to a new Merdeka Center poll.

In the independent pollster survey titled “One Year Anniversary of the Unity Government: Survey Rating Outlook,” 37 per cent of respondents said they were satisfied with the Anwar administration’s efforts in fighting corruption.

Although this was a decline from the 44 per cent during a survey in March, the rating was still above the 32 per cent rating that Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s government had ended with in August 2021.

It was also above the 30 per cent approval on efforts by Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s administration to fight corruption, as measured in a September 2022 poll.

Comparatively, Ismail Sabri’s administration had higher approval for maintaining the rule of law in September 2022 — 42 per cent — compared to Anwar’s of 39 per cent in October, which fell from 47 per cent in a previous poll.

Muhyiddin’s administration was also rated more favourably in helping those in financial distress (63 per cent in August 2021) that the governments of Ismail Sabri (56 per cent in September 2022) and Anwar, which was at 41 per cent last month.

Muhyiddin took power at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic through the so-called “Sheraton Move” that brought down the Pakatan Harapan administration formed after the coalition unexpectedly won the 2018 general election together with his Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu).

Muhyiddin’s administration was responsible for billions of ringgit in Covid-19 assistance schemes, including the Jana Wibawa programme over which he and other Bersatu leaders have been charged with corruption and abuse.

The Merdeka Center surveyed 1,220 registered voters by telephone from October 4 to October 24 in proportions reflective of the national electoral profile regarding their perception of current developments.

Random stratified sampling was used to select respondents along categories of age group, ethnicity, gender, and state constituency.