First, allow me to present a summary of points from THIS LINK:
1. Since June 2009, satisfaction levels with Najib’s performance as premier has hovered in the 65 per cent range, plummeting sharply once to 56 per cent in September last year in the wake of the cow head protest by mainly Umno members against the construction of a Hindu temple in Shah Alam and the death of DAP aide, Teoh Beng Hock, while in the custody of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
In the latest survey, 68 per cent of the respondents said that they were satisfied with the prime minister’s performance. This upward trend occurred despite issues that erupted recently, such as the “Allah” controversy and subsequent attacks on places of worship.
2. Najib’s improved numbers is also the result of a recuperating economy, along with an opposition which has been troubled by defections and infighting.
3. Some 74 per cent of Malays polled were satisfied with Najib’s performance.
4. 77 per cent of Indians fell into the same category.
5. Slightly over 50 per cent of Malaysian Chinese polled gave him the thumbs up. The community has been the target of attacks by Perkasa, a Malay NGO, and right-wing elements in Umno who have tried to picture the Chinese as a threat to Malay political dominance. Sixty-six per cent of Chinese polled held negative sentiments towards Umno.
In the summary of the survey, Ibrahim Suffian of Merdeka Center cautioned that a high approval rating should not be misconstrued as electoral support, but rather agreement with the intentions and stated policies of the PM.
6. More Malaysians placed their trust in Najib (31 per cent) than in Umno (22 per cent). Of all the major races, Indians placed the highest trust in Najib (51 per cent) compared with Umno (13 per cent) while the Chinese believed in the PM (46 per cent) rather than the ruling party (6 per cent).
7. Some 61 per cent of Malaysians polled do not agree with the introduction of the goods and services tax (GST).
8. Most Malaysians view Najib as approachable (80 per cent).
Merdeka Center polled 883 registered voters in West Malaysia between March 11 and March 27, and the questions covered the direction of the country, public satisfaction with the prime minister, and perception of some of his key initiatives.
MY COMMENTS
a) From the perspective of social research
In any social research, three issues stand out as hallmarks of a good study (taken from THIS LINK):
* Reliability : Reliability is the consistency of your measurement, or the degree to which an instrument measures the same way each time it is used under the same condition with the same subjects.
* Validity : Validity is the strength of our conclusions, inferences or propositions. There are four types including
* Representativeness : The degree of which the sample used can be representative of the population under study (my own definition).
As such, for the research to carry weight, any reader must know:
* the sampling method used to obtain the sample size of 883 registered voters
* the background of the sample e.g. geographical distribution, racial composition, age groups etc and to what extent this sample is REPRESENTATIVE of the total number of registered voters in Malaysia.
* the research method used - whether it is a telephone poll, face-to-face interview, administered or self-administered questionnaire and who are those who conducted the study
* Objective/hypothesis of the research
* The degree of independence of the researcher/pollster and the extent of which they are not related to the subject/organization under study, in particular where funding is concerned.
* Whether or not not it was the SAME sample that was used last year and this year to have a good base for comparison.
To know more about the survey, please download the pdf file of the report HERE.
To know more about Merdeka Center, CLICK HERE.
Personally, the opinion of 883 registered voters is minuscule compared to 15.47 million of eligible voters in Malaysia and the 11.08 million registered (72%) voters. FYI, 4.39 million (28%) eligible electors have not registered.
883/11.08 million voters x 100% = 0.007969314%
This means that the study is 0.007969314% representative of the 11.08 million registered voters.
I sincerely hope that Merdeka Center will have bigger and more representative sample sizes from the population under study so that the research findings can have more validity. A good example would be the Gallup Polls.
b) Public Perception of our PM
I am very happy to read about the improvement in ratings for our PM even though many events have not been in his favor as highlighted. My concern is that our PM's ratings WOULD HAVE BEEN HIGHER if not for:
- the cow head protest by mainly Umno members against the construction of a Hindu temple in Shah Alam
- the death of DAP aide, Teoh Beng Hock, while in the custody of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
- “Allah” controversy and subsequent attacks on places of worship.
- target of attacks by Perkasa, a Malay NGO, and right-wing elements in Umno who have tried to picture the Chinese as a threat to Malay political dominance. Sixty-six per cent of Chinese polled held negative sentiments towards Umno.
As such, I sincerely urge our PM to:
* take action against those are saying or doing things that are undermining his 1Malaysia campaign
* solve the TBH murder case
* speak up against issues and resolve problems that concern the rakyat.
I applaud his patience but his silent response towards Perkasa and other leaders who have made certain statements that seem to undermine his 1Malaysia and other efforts does not augur well for his image as can be seen by the results of the Merdeka Survey.
Note that because of our PM's efforts and symbolic gestures, including visiting Batu Caves during Thaipusam and his pledge to uplift the economic status of Indians, 77 per cent of Indians are satisfied with the PM's performance.
As highlighted by Malaysian Insider, Malaysians expect Najib to deliver on his promises as soon as possible, preferably within the next one or two years.
To date, our PM and his team have unveiled ambitious government transformation programme. Efforts are under way to reduce crime and corruption - two main issues of serious concern. He has also outlined the main features of the New Economic Model and the time frame for implementing the new model will be announced soon.
In another report HERE, MI announced that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak marks his first-year in office with a string of bold and drastic measures to push the country’s growth trajectory and transform the nation into a high-income based economy. My concern is, while all these efforts are highly commendable, what will happen if there are those from within who seem to be working against all that our PM is trying to achieve either directly or indirectly? No. 5 as highlighted earlier shows that our PM has to do something about PERKASA if he wants to win over the Chinese and if he wants the rest of us to rally behind his 1Malaysia. What about our PM's response to what his Deputy said recently HERE? Our PM responded HERE but this article in Malaysian Insider HERE said:
The shocking and defiant statement made recently by Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin that he identified himself more with his race than his nationality reveals the difficulties that the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) faces.
Click HERE to read more.
What will happen to US? Who stands to lose? All of us!
So dear Prime Minister, please take the necessary action to nip the serious burgeoning problems in our land. You are the head of government and I believe you can do it! The rakyat are counting on you. May you have leaders who support you directly and indirectly. You have the chance to go down in history to make THAT change for Malaysia or otherwise. The decision and power to make that difference is yours, dear PM.
Do you know where you're going to? Enjoy Diana Ross and her rendition Do you know where you're going to? Listen to it and let's consider where we are going to. Do we know what we are hoping for?
Please leave a comment to share your thoughts/views. Thanks! Have a blessed day.
Anonymous Whatever it's, let Hulu Selangor seat be the decider.