News Release March 12th 2009

Malaysians want their views to be considered in the selection of UMNO leaders – survey

BANGI – In the lead up to the UMNO General Assembly and party elections process, a survey among Malaysian voters reveals that most insist that they should have their say in the selection of UMNO leaders.

A national voter survey conducted by Merdeka Center for Opinion Research reveals that 79% of voters say that “UMNO delegates must take into consideration the views of ordinary Malaysians in determining UMNO leadership line up as it influences national politics”. Only 16% of voters feel that selection of UMNO leaders is the party’s internal affairs.

High expectations on UMNO

The survey reveals that a plurality of Malaysians (19%) wants the party to treat all races fairly. Among Malay voters, 19% want the party to “continue leading the nation” and 15% wanted “the administration of the country be further improved”.

The survey also gauged voters’ perception towards issues affecting UMNO and their hope for the party. 61% of the voters say that corruption is the most serious problem affecting UMNO nowadays followed by “failure to understand the condition of the people” (13%), “race-based” (6%) and “weak leadership” (6%).

High on the voters’ wish list for UMNO are “fair treatment to all races” (19%), “continue to lead the country” (11%), “improve the system of governance” (10%) and “care for people’s welfare” (8%).

Asked what criteria of leadership they think most important to be emulated by UMNO leaders, 21% of voters say “being just to the rakyat”, “close to the people” (11%), “being honest” (9%), “religiously educated” (8%), and “being responsible and free from corruption” (5%).

58% of Malay voters said they were confident that Tan Sri were capable of making their wishes come true while 35% and 29% of the voters had their confidence in Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam and Tan Sri Muhammad Muhd Taib respectively.

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Muhyiddin, Muhkriz, Shahrizat and Shahniza favored by public

With respect to contesting candidates, the survey found that 52% of all registered voters surveyed supported Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin for the deputy president’s post. Datuk Seri Ali Rustam on the other hand received 11% while Tan Sri Muhammad Taib was supported by 7%.

Amongst the 592 Malay voters surveyed, 61% supported Tan Sri Muhyiddin compared to 14% and 8% for Datuk Seri Ali Rustam and Tan Sri Muhammad Taib respectively.

For the vice president’s post, Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hussein emerged as the most preferred candidate (17%) followed by Datuk Seri (13%) and Datuk Seri Mohd. (8%), among Malay voters.

52% of voters pick former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir’s son Mukhriz as the most preferred candidate for UMNO Youth Chief compared to 11% each for Khairy Jamaluddin and Datuk Seri Mohd. Khir Toyo.

51% of voters also prefer Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil as Wanita Chief to incumbent Datuk Seri (26%). 26% support Shahniza Shamsuddin as Puteri Chief rendering her the most popular candidate for the post.

This survey indicates Malaysian public’s keen interest in UMNO election. They also have strong views about the problems affecting the party while at the same time harbor high hopes that those elected to fill up various key positions in the party will be able to fulfill their wishes.

As a result of BN’s poor showing in the 2008 general elections, UMNO is now at the crossroads of national politics and is embarking on a challenging task to regain voters’ confidence.

The opinion poll was carried out by the Merdeka Center for Opinion Research in collaboration with academics from the International Islamic University .

The poll was conducted between 4th and 16th February 2009 to gauge voters’ perception of the UMNO election scheduled to be held later this month.

A total of 1031 registered voters in Peninsular Malaysia comprising 57% Malays, 31% Chinese and 12% Indian were interviewed by telephone in the poll. Respondents were selected on the basis of random stratified sampling along ethnicity, gender and state.

2 About Merdeka Center for Opinion Research

Merdeka Center for Opinion Research was formally established in 2001 as an independent organization focused on public opinion research and socio-economic analysis. Its members comprise social scientists and professionals with qualifications in political science, economics, communications, marketing and law. Merdeka’s mission is to act as a bridge between ordinary Malaysians and other stakeholders with the leading members of the nation – by collecting public opinion studies and expressing them through survey results, analysis and position papers. For details, visit: www.merdeka.org

Contact:

Ibrahim Suffian Director - Programs Mobile: 012 379 1940 Email: [email protected]

Dr. Marzuki Mohamad Assistant Professor Political Science Department, Kulliyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences International Islamic University Malaysia Mobile: 012 292 7798 Email: [email protected]

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