Many worried country going downhill

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 1 — An opinion poll carried out early last month confirmed what many Malaysians already know: four months after the 12th General Election, the people think the country is going in the wrong direction and are concerned about economic issues.

The Merdeka Centre survey, which only polled registered voters aged 21+, found that only 28% of respondents were satisfied with the way things were going in the country. The biggest concern is the economy, with 59% saying they were "worried over economic-related issues", followed by 10% citing concern over political matters.

Not surprisingly, only 40% of the voters polled in Peninsular Malaysia said they were satisfied with Barisan Nasional while 57% expressed satisfaction with Pakatan Rakyat. And only 42% of respondents said they were happy with the Prime Minister's performance.

Keeping in mind that the poll was carried out before Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's arrest and the surfacing of the Pas-Umno talks, only 11% of the respondents believed in the allegations of sexual misconduct against Anwar. A significant 66% agreed that "it was a politically motivated action to disrupt Anwar’s political career".

Significantly, confidence in the instituitions that would handle this matter is low, with just 33% of those polled saying they were confident.

-TMI