Merdeka Center survey reveals youth’s openness to female PM, more concerts despite mixed gender crowds

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 6 — In a survey conducted by the Merdeka Center, it has become clear that Malaysian youth are embracing more progressive views.

Recent data reveals that a growing number are warming up to the idea of a female prime minister and are in favour of more concerts, despite mixed gender crowds.

The survey showed that across the board every state except those in the East coast were okay if a female became the prime minister.

“More than half of our respondents agreed with this and we see similar trends across the region except at the East coast who think a male was more suited for the post,” said senior research officer Fadhil Rahman.

“Generally speaking, the positive setting for a female leader is the higher presence of women in leadership positions, a lot of influencers are women and a lot of women in organisations now are proving they have outstanding leadership qualities,” he added.

The data is especially telling across different demographics. For instance, 59 per cent of female respondents support the idea, while 55 per cent of male respondents share the sentiment.

Ethnically, 59 per cent of Malays and 53 per cent of Muslim Bumiputera are not on board with this progressive stance.

Regionally, the East Malaysians are the most receptive, with a striking 65 per cent agreeing that a woman could lead the nation.

Overall 40 per cent still disagree while 57 per cent agree.

British alternative rock band MUSE performs live during a concert at Stadium Bukit Jalil Kuala Lumpur in this file picture dated July 29, 2023. — Picture by Hari Anggara

Push for more concerts

Another noteworthy result from the same survey shows that over half of the youth (52 per cent) believe that attending concerts is permissible, even if the crowd is mixed.

The notion that concerts are inappropriate for Muslims due to mingling between genders is losing ground, as many respondents highlighted the unfairness of cancelling concerts while allowing other social events such as clubbing.

“Concerts usually have both men and women, and they can easily bump into each other. They should abide by the concept of ‘muhrim,’” commented a youth from the East coast region during a focus group discussion.

However, a respondent from the Southern region offered a more progressive view: “I don’t agree with issues like The 1975 incident happening, but I support continuing to hold concerts — it feels unfair if clubbing is still allowed, but concerts are cancelled.”

While respondents from the East coast remain the most conservative, with 60 per cent not in favour of concerts, Central and Southern regions show higher levels of acceptance, with 64 per cent and 54 per cent supporting concerts, respectively.

In the North and East Malaysian regions, both had 53 per cent of respondents happy with having more concerts.

The survey was conducted from April 3 until May 12, 2024, and took in 1,605 responses from youth aged between 18 and 30 via telephone (fixed or mobile lines).

Twenty per cent of respondents were aged between 18 and 20, 41 per cent between ages 21 and 24, and 39 per cent between 25 and 30 years old.

Malays made up 57 per cent of all respondents, Chinese 21 per cent while Indians made up seven per cent of respondents.

The breakdown of states are as follows: