PETALING JAYA: The majority of Chinese voters are still with Pakatan Harapan, but not in the same kind of number as in 2018 – the 95% support the coalition enjoyed in GE14 has dropped to 68% this time, according to a survey.
The survey found that Chinese voters – who make up 25% of the electorate – still pick DAP as their preferred choice.
However, the Chinese support for MCA has gone up by 10% from previous polls, according to the study conducted by Huayan Policy Institute (Huayan).
It is part of a mega survey known as “Suara Rakyat Malaysia Menuju PRU15” (Malaysian Voices: On the Road to GE15), carried out in collaboration with two other research firms – O2 Research Malaysia and Ilham Centre – and Media in Arms, an alliance of five media major outlets.
Media in Arms comprises Sinar Harian, The Star, Sin Chew Daily, Astro Awani and Malaysia Nanban, which teamed up early this year to offer readers diversified and in-depth content.
A total of 2,354 respondents took part in Huayan’s study from Sept 19 to Oct 9 to gauge the sentiment of Chinese voters.
The hybrid study polled 2,061 Chinese respondents online and conducted in-person interviews with 293 in three parliamentary constituencies – Bukit Gelugor in Penang (held by Pakatan), Sungai Besar in Selangor (Perikatan Nasional) and Ayer Hitam in Johor (Barisan Nasional).
According to the survey, Pakatan has more than 65% Chinese support in all states except Sabah and Sarawak, where it is at only 39.5% and 55.6%, respectively. However, in certain areas, Barisan, especially the MCA, has been making inroads since 2018.
In 2019, MCA won the Tanjung Piai by-election with a huge majority. In November 2021, it also made a comeback by winning two seats in the Melaka state polls while in March 2022, MCA clinched four seats in the Johor state elections.
The on-the-ground interview segment of the survey found that Ayer Hitam has the lowest Chinese support for Pakatan as “this area is a Barisan seat under a Barisan-controlled state.’’
The incumbent MP for Ayer Hitam is MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.
The survey also found out that a third of the Chinese respondents from Ayer Hitam and Sungai Besar want a Barisan candidate to represent them in Parliament.
“This indicates that Chinese support for Barisan has increased in these areas,” it added.
The incumbent Sungai Besar MP is Datuk Muslimin Yahaya who won on a Barisan ticket but then joined Bersatu.
The survey also found that 19.6% of respondents from Bukit Gelugor are looking for a representative from other parties or independent candidates. The incumbent MP is lawyer Ramkarpal Singh from DAP.
According to Huayan, location and age group are potential factors affecting the support of Chinese voters.
The study found that Barisan has gained 9.2% to 15.8% of support across all age groups.
“Pakatan gains the lowest support from the 26-30 age group but the support from 18-20 and 21-25 increases,” it said, adding that the fledgling Muda has large support among younger Chinese voters.
Most Chinese voters indicated that they will or are most likely to cast their vote in GE15, said Huayan.
It said 80% of the Chinese respondents will or are most likely to vote in GE15 with only 9% saying they will not or are most likely not to vote while 11% have not decided yet.
“Additionally, more than half of them will vote for the same party or political coalition in both state and parliamentary seats.
“Only 13.5% of Chinese voters will split their vote at state and parliamentary levels,” it added.
The survey described 26.6% of the respondents as rational as they will get information from different parties while 16% are “suffering from political fatigue.”
“They don’t think there is any difference between leaders and parties,” it said, adding that 6% of voters will follow suggestions from others.
Pakatan supporters are most likely to cast their vote followed by Barisan supporters, while Perikatan supporters are the least likely to vote.
These stories are the final part of the What Rakyat Want survey series ahead of GE15.
