SELANGOR Malays prefer to vote based on political branding rather than along racial lines and the economy, despite the latter being a pressing concern.
They are likely to believe in prioritising political stability and that solutions to resolve present or upcoming woes, including economic matters, will be meted out once durable governance is installed, several experts say.
On the heels of a survey by public opinion research centre Endeavour-MGC on Malay voters’ take on the upcoming election in Selangor, the experts also say the group may find it difficult to associate political brands or parties with economic policies.
The survey, conducted between June 12 and 18, has a sample of 1,068 respondents from a total of 1.9 million registered voters in Selangor from across all 56 state constituencies.
The respondents comprise 50% men and 50% women, with a margin of error of 3%, and a confidence level of 95.
According to the results, only 1% will vote based on racial policies, 3% on the economy and 7% on religious lines while a whopping 61% is grounded on political parties.
Social science expert Assoc Prof Dr Hasan Ahmad says, in general, the Malay community in Selangor has moved on from racial-religious politics.
“The survey illustrates that the respondents, at large, no longer see race and religion as a huge factor when electing representatives.
“At 61% and 28%, they are more concerned about political brands and the candidates respectively.”
Religion and rights
Geostrategist Dr Azmi Hassan offers a slightly different view of the survey respondents’ voting preferences, especially where religion is concerned.
He points out that religion will always score higher than race when it comes to the Malays.
“For the Malays, religion comes first. I would say 99% of the Malays are mostly in this case.
“It is no surprise that Malays will choose religion over race [when given a choice].”
The survey nonetheless finds that 63% of the respondents feel their “rights in the country” are being threatened by others.
“But we first need to understand what they mean when it comes to feeling their rights threatened by others,” says Assoc Prof Dr Hasan.
“Are they talking about Malay rights, religious rights or economic rights?
“Most of the respondents are from the B40 [lower income] segment. It is also likely they are talking about job opportunities being taken up by foreigners.”
Bread and butter issues
While 49% are extremely concerned about the impact of inflation on their personal finances and 40% are moderately concerned, only 3% of the respondents say they will vote based on the economy.
Meanwhile, 87% of the respondents say they do not know about government economic initiatives on curbing inflation and reducing the cost of living.
“This is an irony when it comes to the public interest section of the survey, the Malays are extremely worried about inflation’s impact on their finances.
“It appears they do not associate the political party with the economy. It can be said that the respondents prioritise political stability, from which economic safety remains secondary and derives from.
“This is seen in their unfamiliarity with government economic initiatives,” Assoc Prof Hasan says.
Political analyst Prof Dr Sivamurugan Pandian believes the respondents’ interests in the economy most likely lie in the outcome of policies.
“It appears that a majority may not be interested to participate in economic policies, but they are more concerned about how the outcome will affect them.
“They want to see if this will affect their daily routines, jobs and education opportunities, for example,” he says.
On the respondents’ lack of preference to vote based on the economy, Azmi says ironically, economic matters should be a main concern since a bulk of the samples are from the B40 and M40 (middle income) groups.
The survey states 45% of the respondents are from the B40 group earning RM4,850 and below monthly, 40% are of the M40 group earning between RM4,850 and RM10,959, and 15% are from the T20 tier with an income of RM10,959 and above.
Nonetheless, Azmi believes that this does not mean that the respondents are not concerned about economic matters.
“They are just unsure [or unaware] about the government’s initiatives.
“I do not think that they are setting aside economic matters just because of their understanding of government policies.”
Intense battle?
Many political experts are predicting that it will be a close fight between Pakatan and Opposition coalition Perikatan Nasional in Selangor in the state polls next month, and this can be seen in the survey findings: 42% of respondents prefer Pakatan to continue leading the state, while 33% chose Perikatan.
At the same time, 15% picked Barisan Nasional and 1% wants Muda to score in the election.
The advantage that Pakatan has in Selangor is also demonstrated by the approval ratings of the Pakatan-led state government and the Federal-level unity government.
According to the survey, 69% voiced their approval of the formation of a unity government between Pakatan and Barisan following the outcome of the 15th General Election.
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Hasan points out that similar ratings are also given to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari.
“The approval given to Anwar as Prime Minister reflects Selangoreans’ acceptance of his leadership and, consequently, similar ratings are given to Amirudin.”
He says as the survey lists political branding or parties as the top voting factor, the support given to Pakatan cascades well into Amirudin’s favour; the approval received by the latter is also buoyed by his position as the incumbent mentri besar.
This is further illustrated by the paltry score given to former Selangor mentri besar Datuk Seri Azmin Ali, – only 6% of the respondents want him to return to office.
Amirudin remains in the lead at 46%.
“This is likely because Selangor Malays, according to the survey, prioritise the brand brought by the political parties and support will be given to anyone under the same banner.”
Prof Sivamurugan says this is an indication of solid support for the government led by Anwar, based on the percentages attained by Pakatan and Barisan.
However, he warns that a vote bank on the grounds of a preference can be swayed if not handled carefully.
“Correspondingly, there are more pertinent issues that will reflect voting patterns, particularly on candidates’ selection, holistic approach in resolving issues, and the defensive or offensive measures taken when addressing them.
Judging from the segments of respondents, he says “The government will also need to resolve class politics; the interest of the middle and upper class should be looked into while resolving issues concerning the B40,” he says.
This survey is part of the Media in Arms’ special report on the upcoming state elections. Media in Arms is a media collaboration comprising Chinese newspaper Sin Chew Daily, Malay daily Sinar Harian, local news broadcaster Astro Awani, Tamil newspaper Malaysia Nanban and The Star. The five mainstream media got together in February last year to share resources and collaborate on diversified news content.
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