By Selangor Journal Team
SHAH ALAM, Dec 23 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the Unity Government have seen an increase in approval ratings compared to last year, according to a latest survey by think tank Merdeka Center.
The study, conducted in conjunction with the Madani government’s second year in office, found that a majority of Malaysian voters gave Anwar a positive approval rating of 54 per cent as of December this year, compared to 50 per cent a year ago.
“Voters were generally satisfied with the Prime Minister’s performance across a number of areas, such as attracting investments, improving the country’s image, and improving the civil service.
“However, they gave mixed assessment when asked about the efforts to strengthen the economy,” it said in a statement released together with the survey today.
Meanwhile, the Federal government’s approval rating also increased to 51 per cent, up from 46 per cent in November 2023. Dissatisfaction with Putrajaya stood at 47 per cent.
Merdeka Center explained that the tight spread between positive and negative outlooks is primarily driven by ongoing concerns about the cost of living and anxiety over upcoming subsidy cuts.
As in the past, voter sentiments remain centered on the economy, with 65 per cent citing it as the “number one problem facing the country today”.
However, this figure represents a decrease from 74 per cent a year ago.
“About 53 per cent think the country is headed in the wrong direction, compared to 54 per cent one year ago, while the number of voters that think the country is heading in the right direction has improved slightly to 39 per cent from 36 per cent in November 2023,” it said.
The main reasons for the wrong direction are economic issues (47 per cent), political instability (seven per cent) and poor administration (eight per cent).
The survey also measured the Federal government’s performance on a few other parameters, the majority of which showed improvements from last year.
Among others, 44 per cent of respondents believe the government has been successful in generating economic growth (from 32 per cent), 32 per cent felt cost of living issues are being addressed (from 24 per cent), and 47 per cent believe government integrity is improving (from 40 per cent).
The survey aimed to assess voters’ perception of current developments.
A total of 1,207 registered voters, comprising 52 per cent Malay, 29 per cent Chinese, seven per cent Indian, six per cent Muslim Bumiputera, and six per cent non-Muslim Bumiputera from Sabah and Sarawak took part in the survey.
