Populariti Najib jatuh 10%, paling rendah dalam sejarah, lapor Merdeka Centre The Malaysian Insider

Populariti Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Razak (gambar) jatuh paling rendah sejak memegang jawatan itu apabila ratingnya jatuh daripada 62% Ogos lalu ke 52% pada bulan Disember ini, lapor kaji selidik yang dibuat oleh Merdeka Centre.

Menurut Merdeka Centre, kajian itu dibuat selepas pemotongan subsidi minyak dibuat oleh kerajaan pada September 2013, pembentangan Bajet 2014 yang memperkenalkan cukai Barangan dan Perkhidmatan (GST) dan kenyataan peningkatan tarif elektrik mulai Januari 2014.

Menurutnya, isu ekonomi terutamanya kenaikan harga dan inflasi menjadi kebimbangan sehingga 67% daripada respondan yang ditanya.

Kajian itu mendapati, 57% daripada pengundi di Semenanjung Malaysia tidak faham bahagaimana GST berperanan dan memberikan kesan kepada mereka.

54% daripada mereka juga tidak percaya kepada kenyataan yang dibuat oleh para pemimpin kerajaan berkenaaan keadaaan ekonomi negara.

Jumlah yang melahirkan rasa gembira dengan kerajaan juga jatuh merudum kepada 38% berbanding 50% Ogos 2013 lalu, yang menunjukkan  kejatuhan kepada sikap positif di kalangan semua peringkat di negara ini.

Merdeka Centre juga mendedahkan data yang tidak pernah didedahkan dalam kajian pendapat selama ini iaitu untuk bukan Jun 2013 dan Ogos  2013.

Kajian terkini ini dibuat serentak dengan Perhimpunan Agung Umno ke atas 1,005 orang pengundi berdaftar iaitu 60% di kalangan Melayu, 31% Cina dan 9% India yang dibuat melalui perbualan menerusi telefon.

Mereka dipilih secara rawak yang mewakili masyarakat Malaysia yang berbeza bangsa dan jantina.

Kajian bulan Jun 2013 mengandungi 1006 orag responden manakala  1008 orang responden untuk kajian Ogos 2013. - 18 Disember  2013.

Najib’s approval rating takes a plunge, Merdeka Center survey reveals

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's approval rating has taken the lowest dip since assuming office in 2009, declining to 52% in December, from 62% in August, a Merdeka Center survey has found.

Two months after replacing Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as prime minister, Najib had a 65% approval rating.

The pollster said the survey was conducted between December 4 and 12, 2013, after the reduction of fuel subsidies in September 2013, and the tabling of the 2014 national budget during which the government announced the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in 2015.

The survey also showed that Najib’s drop in popularity cuts across all races, with the most significant decline being among the Indians, with a drop from 76% to 57%.

Among the Chinese, the approval rate stands at 21%, after a 15 percentage point loss, while a seven percentage point drop, from 73% to 66%, was recorded among the Malays.

Merdeka Center said in a statement that concerns over the economy, particularly rising costs and inflation, rose to its highest ever level, up to 67% of all respondents.

The survey found that 55% of Peninsular Malaysia voters said that they did not  quite understand how GST will affect them.

Additionally, 54% of respondents reported that they did not believe in statements by government leaders about the country’s economic situation.

The number of those expressing “happiness” with the government has also declined to 38%, compared to 50% in August 2013, showing a significant reduction in positive attitude from across major ethnic groups.

Merdeka Center also released data from previously unreleased opinion surveys conducted in June 2013 and August 2013.

The latest survey, which coincided with the recent Umno general assembly, polled 1,005 registered voters comprising 60% Malays, 31% Chinese and 9% Indians through telephone interviews in the preferred language of the respondents.

They were selected randomly, representing Malaysians of different races and genders.

The June 2013 survey had 1006 respondents while 1008 were polled for the August 2013 survey. - December 18, 2013.

Kos sara hidup naik tanda negara berada di landasan salah, lapor kajian

Rakyat menyifatkan kenaikkan kos sara hidup sebagai isyarat negara berada di landasan salah, menurut kajian terbaru Merdeka Center.

Sebanyak 49% responden yang ditinjau bersetuju Malaysia berada di landasan salah berbanding 41% yang menyokong.

Daripada jumlah tersebut, 30% responden menyifatkan kenaikan harga minyak, inflasi dan kenaikkan kos sara adalah isyarat utama ke arah itu.

Sebanyak 35% masyarakat Melayu bersetuju, diikuti 78% masyarakat Cina dan 43% masyarakat India.

Indeks Harga Pengguna (CPI) pada bulan November 2013 meningkat kepada 2.9% selepas Jabatan Statistik mengeluarkan data terkini hari ini.

Kadar tersebut tertinggi sejak Disember 2011 dan selari dengan ramalan susulan pemotongan subsidi minyak yang diumumkan Putrajaya pada September lalu.

Kajian terkini tersebut dijalankan pada 4 hingga12 Disember baru-baru ini sebaik sahaja berakhir Perhimpunan Agung Umno 2013.

Bagi kajian bulan Disember 2013, sebanyak 1,005 pengundi berdaftar diambil sebagai sampel, 60% terdiri daripada masyarakat  Melayu, 31% Cina dan 9% adalah India.

Responden dipilih berdasarkan persampelan rawak berlapis bersama-sama etnik, jantina dan negeri bagi tempat kediaman.

Kajian dilakukan menerusi temuduga perbualan telefon.

Selepas berakhir pilihan raya umum ke-13 lalu, pentadbiran Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Razak telah mengambil beberapa langkah pengukuhan defisit fiskal, antaranya mengumumkan pemotongan subsidi petrol sebanyak 20 sen, pemansuhan subsidi gula sebanyak 34 sen, menaikkan tarif elektrik hampir 15% dan terbaru bakal menaikkan kadar tol di sekitar ibu kota dan Selangor.

Putrajaya juga mengumumkan pelaksanaan cukai GST yang akan bermula pada tahun 2015 sebagai langkah mengelak  kebergantungan kepada pendapatan Petronas semata-mata.

Kadar hutang negara yang kini berada pada paras 53.5% daripada Keluaran Dalam Negara Kasar (KDNK) berbanding 43% pada 2008  dan semakin menghampiri 55%.

Najib bagaimanapun menyatakan komitmen kerajaan untuk mencapai sasaran defisit fiskal pada paras tiga peratus daripada KDNK  pada 2015 dan bajet berimbang pada 2020 dengan usaha konsolidasi fiskal yang diambil pentadbirannya. – 18 Disember 2013.

Malaysia heading in ‘wrong direction’, survey shows

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 18 — Nearly half of Malaysians surveyed felt that the country is moving in the wrong direction after fractious elections in May, the latest study by independent pollster Merdeka Center released today showed.

In addition, its public opinion survey this month showed that over half of the 1,005 respondents did not trust Putrajaya’s claim about the country’s economic performance following a series of price hikes.

The survey showed that 13 per cent of respondents felt strongly that Malaysia is heading in the wrong direction, bringing the total of those swaying towards the wrong direction to 49 per cent.

They edged out the 9 per cent of respondents who felt strongly that Malaysia is heading in the right direction instead, which made up the 41 per cent who swayed towards the right direction.

A total of 30 per cent from those who felt Malaysia is going the wrong way cited a series of price hikes, inflation or rising cost of living as the reason, with an additional 15 per cent blaming unfavourable economic condition in general.

In contrast, the numbers of those who felt that Malaysia is on the right path stayed high at 54 per cent between June and July, just after the May polls.

Since then, the numbers had taken a tumble following Putrajaya’s decision to cut fuel subsidies leading to a price hike at the pumps for the widely used RON95 grade of petrol; the announcement of a Goods and Services Tax (GST); and a revision to the electricity tariff rate that will take effect from January.

The survey noted that over half of respondents, or 54 per cent, said they did not believe statements made by government leaders about the state of the economy, with 21 per cent strongly disbelieving them.

In contrast, 35 per cent said they trusted Putrajaya’s word on the country’s economic performance.

Putrajaya’s economic policies over the past few months appear to have also played a major role, resulting in 39 per cent of Malaysians polled saying they are dissatisfied with the government.

However, an additional 8 per cent said that they were angry with Putrajaya.

The number of Malaysians happy with the government has also taken a beating with only 38 per cent of respondents saying so compared to 50 per cent polled in August.

Malaysia embarked on a series of subsidy cuts in September, starting with raising the pump price of RON95 petrol and diesel by RM0.20/L starting September 3, to RM2.10 and RM2.00 per litre respectively.

Postponed prior to Election 2013, the so-called subsidy rationalisation programmed was resumed after ratings firm Fitch slashed Malaysia’s sovereign debt outlook from “Stable” to “Negative” in July.

In Budget 2014, Putrajaya finally confirmed the 2015 rollout of the GST and said it would stop subsidising sugar by the current 34 sen per kg, in a move that may cause cascading price hikes.

Starting next year, the electricity tariff in the peninsula will also increase by 14.9 per cent or 4.99 sen to 38.53 sen for every kilowatt per hour (kWh), and 5 sen for Sabah and Labuan.

The series of painful measures to trim Malaysia’s chronic budget deficit has hit Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s popularity hard, with the Merdeka Center survey showing his approval sliding to a new low of 52 per cent in December.