KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA— The most popular minister in the Malaysia’s Unity government Cabinet is Anthony Loke Siew Fook, Minister of Transport.
According to a joint survey conducted by five media outlet in collaboration with the research firm O2 Research, Loke emerged as the top favourite, with 49 per cent of the vote, ahead of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim who took second place with 40 per cent of the vote.
Mr Loke is well-known for his proactive approach to improving public transportation in the country. He even went incognito to conduct spot-checks on Rapid KL’s Light Rail Transit (LRT) in December of last year, without being accompanied by media or top officers.
Anwar, the 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia, was lauded for his pro-people policies, such as the refusal to reinstate GST and anti-corruption stance.
However, his appointment of his daughter, Nurul Izzah, as the prime minister’s senior economic and financial adviser negatively impacted his image.
Due to the backlash, Nurul Izzah eventually decided to step down from the position and instead co-chairs the secretariat of the newly-formed advisory panel for the finance ministry.
The survey, “100 Days of the Unity Government led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim,” shows that Hannah Yeoh, Minister of Youth and Sports, ranks in third place with 39 per cent of the vote.
Ms Yeoh is known for her advocacy for children’s rights and gender equality. As the Minister, she has emphasized the importance of improving the well-being of Malaysia’s athletes and promoting sports as a means of fostering national unity and community development.
Hari ini saya sempat singgah menghadiri perkahwinan Fizatul Farha and Mohd Ain Asman di Masjid Al-Hidayah, Kampung Sungai Penchala. #Segambut. Semoga pasangan baru kekal bahagia sepanjang masa. pic.twitter.com/Yz6sB0mUBN
— Hannah Yeoh (@hannahyeoh) February 25, 2023
Nga Kor Ming, Minister of Local Government Development, who ranked fourth on the list, emphasized that “toilets must be clean” after taking office.
Azalina Othman, Minister of Law and Institutional Reform, ranked fifth in the poll.
The ministers ranked 6th to 10th are:
- Minister of Digital Communications, Fahmi Fadzil (30%)
- Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Mohamad Sabu (28%)
- Minister of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living, Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub (27%)
- Minister of International Trade and Industry Minister, Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz (26%)
- Minister of Education, Fadhlina Sidek (26%)
None of the ministers scored more than 50%
None of the ministers scored more than 50 per cent on the “satisfied/very satisfied” option, indicating that some people still question their performance.
The overall support rate for the 28 ministers has yet to reach a level of more than 60 per cent among the people.
The online survey was jointly conducted by Sinar Harian, Astro AWANI, Sin Chew, The Star, and Tamil paper Malaysia Nanban.
The poll was conducted online from February 6 to 16 and had 35,077 respondents.
It collected responses from various ethnic groups in Malaysia, including Malays, Chinese, Indians, Sarawakians, Sabahans, and others. The sample aligns with the proportion of voting results in the 15th general election.
71 per cent of Malay respondents dissatisfied with Unity Government’s fulfilment of the GE15 manifesto
The survey showed that 71 per cent of Malay respondents in Peninsular Malaysia expressed dissatisfaction with the new government’s fulfillment of the 15th general election (GE15) manifesto, in contrast to 51 per cent of the overall population who reported feeling dissatisfied.
Additionally, the survey found that ethnic Chinese respondents reported 38 per cent satisfaction with the government’s manifesto fulfillment, while 48 per cent of ethnic Indians, 42 per cent of Bumiputera in Sabah, 37 per cent of Bumiputera in Sarawak, and 33 per cent of other respondents expressed satisfaction.
While 25 per cent of all respondents expressed satisfaction with the government overall, only 15 per cent of Malays in Peninsular Malaysia reported being satisfied.
Despite not campaigning together with a common manifesto, the coalition government led by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was formed by an alliance of Pakatan Harapan (PH), Barisan Nasional (BN), Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah, all of whom campaigned separately with their own manifesto.
The survey aimed to review the sentiment of Malaysians regarding the performance and popularity of the coalition government after GE15. The results showed that 45 per cent of respondents felt the country was moving in the right direction, with 76 per cent of Chinese and Indians, 59 per cent of Bumiputera in Sabah, 60 per cent of Bumiputera in Sarawak, and 58 per cent of other races sharing this sentiment.
On the other hand, 60 per cent of Malays in Peninsular Malaysia reportedly felt that the current state of the country was weak, compared to 41 per cent of Chinese respondents who reportedly felt that the current state of the country was strong, along with 49 per cent of Indians, 43 per cent of Bumiputera in Sabah, 45 per cent of Bumiputera in Sarawak, and 39 per cent of other ethnicities.
