As Madani govt turns two, Merdeka Center says Anwar’s approval rating goes up to 54pc with fewer feeling country in wrong direction

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 23 — Independent pollster Merdeka Center announced today that its most recent survey puts Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s approval rating at 54 per cent compared to 50 per cent a year ago.

As Anwar’s Madani administration marks two years in office, respondents also gave it an approval rating of 51 per cent compared to 46 per cent previously.

“Voters were generally satisfied with the prime minister’s performance across a number of areas (i.e, attracting investments, improving the country’s image, and improving the civil service) but gave mixed assessment when asked about the efforts to strengthen the economy,” it said in a statement here.

“Dissatisfaction towards the federal government presently stands at 47 per cent.

“The tight spread between positives and negatives are largely driven by persistent concerns about cost of living pressures and some anxiety over subsidy cuts slated to take place in the future,” it added.

It also said that voters’ worry continue to focus on the economy, with 65 per cent saying it as the number one problem Malaysia is currently facing — a drop from 74 per cent previously.

In addition, 53 per cent of respondents said the country is headed in the wrong direction compared to 54 per cent previously.

Those who felt that the country is heading in the right direction also improved slightly to 39 per cent from 36 per cent.

“The major reasons for the wrong direction are economic issues (47 per cent), political instability (7 per cent) and poor administration (8 per cent).

The survey involved phone calls to 1,207 registered voters between November 27 and December 10 this year.