PETALING JAYA: Voters in Pakatan-led governments in Selangor, Negri Sembilan and Penang are polarised against voters in Perikatan states namely Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu, a survey finds.
Research firm Ilham Centre said in a report that the states with mixed voter demographics were more open in their evaluations of the unity government's performance.
“However, states with Malay-majority voters gave a low ‘approval rating’ to questions related to the performance of the Prime Minister and the government.
“Field research shows that the popularity of the Prime Minister, the government and the policies of Madani Malaysia are at a high level for Pakatan-governed states, but (it is otherwise) in Perikatan states,” said the Ilham Centre report on Thursday (Aug 10).
Ilham Centre also said the state elections will see split votes among Malay voters, allowing the non-Malay voters to have the final say in having the Pakatan Harapan-Barisan Nasional unity pact or Perikatan Nasional to lead their respective states.
“It is expected that Malay votes will be split but it will not be as intense for the one-to-one contests in the state elections when compared to the 15th General Election (GE15) where there were more three-cornered fights.
“The popularity of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the government and the policies of Malaysia Madani among non-Malay voters is at a high and consistent level in all six states involved,” it said.
The survey also stated that the unity government needed to be more effective in communicating its policies, especially in rural areas where there was a poor understanding of them.
It said 55% of respondents in the six states going to the polls did not understand the policies and were dissatisfied with the Prime Minister's performance in the last eight months.
Overall, 45% of respondents said they understood the Malaysia Madani concept introduced by the unity government.
“Only 39% of Malays from Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu, Penang, Selangor and Negri Sembilan can understand the policies when compared to 61% of ethnic Chinese, 55% of ethnic Indians, and 75% from other groups.
"With only eight months in governance, the acceptance percentage is good for the government.
“However, information on the policies should be channelled actively by the government, especially in the rural areas,” it said.
Ilham Centre conducted the survey from July 11 to 27 on the people’s acceptance of the unity government and Malaysia Madani policy, with a focus on the six state elections.
The survey involved 2,416 respondents covering all ages, ethnicities, household groups, education levels, occupations and different localities from the states involved.
