PETALING JAYA: Malay sentiment towards the unity government, a voting bloc that Pakatan Harapan has always struggled with, has improved in the administration’s second year in office, according to annual survey data from think tank Merdeka Center.
In the latest survey, 36% of Malays felt that the country was going in the right direction, compared to 55% who did not think so.
In 2023, 23% of Malay respondents felt that the country was going in the right direction versus 67% who felt it was not.
Merdeka Center executive director Ibrahim Suffian said although sentiment from Malay voters is improving, a majority of them still held a negative view of the government.
“The positive sentiment is not overwhelming because cost of living is still high and people are still worried about the economy.
“It is just that more people are cautiously hopeful that things will get better in 2025. But there are still those who are doubtful that the economy will improve,” he said, explaining the factors behind the improved Malay sentiment.
On the first anniversary of the first Pakatan government in July 2019, 31% of Malay respondents felt that the country was moving in the right direction versus 46% who did not think so.
Sentiment towards the government can be gleaned from how many respondents of an ethnic group felt that “Malaysia was going in the right or wrong direction”.
Ibrahim said how respondents felt about “the direction of country” mirrors their feelings towards the current government.
“It reflects how people feel about the government’s stewardship, how it is tackling economic challenges such as cost of living and growing the economy, and the quality of its services to the people,” Ibrahim said when contacted.
The unity government is made up of Pakatan parties, Barisan Nasional, as well as parties and groupings from Sarawak and Sabah.
Another factor for the improving Malay sentiment towards the government is the fact that they have been politically stable despite persistent chatter that the administration could collapse, said Ibrahim.
“In the unity government’s first term, there was uncertainty on whether they can serve until the end of their term and whether the Opposition will attempt another change like in 2020,” he added.
Ibrahim said the government’s ability to stay together in its second year and the improving economic climate added to the positive sentiment among Malay respondents.
In October 2022, just before the 15th General Election, 22% of Malay respondents in the think tank’s survey of that year felt that the country was “going the right direction”.
Between March 2020 and October 2022, the nation was then governed by an alliance of mostly Malay parties from Perikatan Nasional and Barisan Nasional.
Surveys carried out in August 2020 and April 2021 showed that a majority of Malay respondents were positive towards the government of Perikatan and Barisan, where 72% and 54% respectively said the nation was moving in the right direction.
In October 2022, under the same administration, Merdeka Center’s survey found that only 22% of Malay respondents felt that the country was going in the right direction.
Going forward, Ibrahim said the unity government needed to expedite how investment commitments are translated into jobs and income opportunities in order to improve support from the Malay community.
