News Release March 25Th 2010
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News Release March 25th 2010 Majority of Chinese voters say that MCA is relevant but have mixed feelings about party election BANGI – In the days leading up to the MCA party elections which will be taking place on 28th March 2010, Merdeka Center through its most recent public opinion survey found that 67% of Chinese respondents in Peninsular Malaysia say that the party remains relevant to the community. Meanwhile 62% of all eligible respondents from across Peninsular Malaysia agreed that the party was relevant to the Chinese community. However, a smaller majority of 51% agreed that the party was “talking about issues that are important to the Chinese community”. When asked what they felt were the causes of the problems within the MCA, among others, 25% of Chinese respondents said it was the “weakening of MCA’s position following the 12th general election” and 22% chose the “exposure of the PKFZ scandal by Ong Tee Keat” as main reasons. Among non-Chinese respondents, a plurality, i.e. 41% among Malay voters and 45% among Indian respondents say that it was due to the party’s weakened position after the last general election. When asked specifically about the PKFZ scandal, 51% of Chinese respondents thought that the actions of Ong Tee Keat to expose the problem improved the reputation of the MCA while 23% disagreed and felt it damaged the party. Among all respondents however, the perception was split with equal proportions, 39% each felt that it damaged or improved the reputation of the party while the remaining 22% did not know. Majority want Ong Tee Keat to contest but the outlook is unclear A majority, 60%, of Chinese respondents in the Peninsular wanted Ong Tee Keat to contest as do 57% who support the idea of Ong Ka Ting running as president again. At the same time, 47% of Chinese respondents also agreed that Dr Chua Soi Lek contest in the election. A plurality, 30%, of Chinese respondents said that incumbent party president Ong Tee Keat was their first choice to lead the party among a slate of leaders while 15% favor former president Ong Ka Ting to make a comeback. Meanwhile, incumbent deputy party president Dr. Chua Soi Lek comes third with 12% of Chinese respondents choosing him as their first choice. When asked if they thought of incumbent Ong Tee Keat’s of winning the party election, a plurality of Chinese respondents – 47% said they were not sure while 14% felt certain that he would win. At the same time, 37% of them felt that he would lose. When asked about Ong Tee Keat’s leadership traits, 62% of Chinese respondents felt that he was “combative” but at the same time, a large majority, 69% also felt that the current MCA president was “courageous”. Majority want a vocal leader in the MCA When asked about leadership characteristics desired of the candidate for the MCA presidency, 26% of Chinese respondents say they wanted someone who could “stand and speak up on important issues”, followed by 10% who wanted a leader that was “fair and democratic”. When asked what the party needed to do to regain their confidence, 21% of Chinese respondents said they wanted the MCA to “retain good leaders” while 9% each wanted the party to “resolve the internal conflicts” and “listen to the people”. The Peninsular Malaysia wide telephone survey of 805 randomly selected Malaysian adults aged 21 and above was carried out between 17th and 23rd March 2010. The survey was funded via Merdeka Center’s internally generated resources. Respondents were selected using the random, stratified sampling method and structured along the national electorate profile and specifically proportional to gender, ethnicity, age groups and state of residence. View top-line, respondents’ profile and other findings at www.merdeka.org About Merdeka Center for Opinion Research Merdeka Center for Opinion Research is an independent, non-partisan organization focused on public opinion research and socio-economic analysis. Merdeka’s mission is to act as a bridge between ordinary Malaysians and other stakeholders with the leading members of the nation – by providing dispassionate presentation of public opinion survey results, analysis and position papers. Contact: Ibrahim Suffian Tan Seng Keat Mobile: 012 379 1940 Mobile: 012 395 0316 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] .