Anwar emerges as top pick for prime minister, says Endeavour-MGV research

KUALA LUMPUR - Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim emerged as the leading candidate for the position of Malaysia's Prime Minister, according to a recent public opinion survey conducted by Endeavour-MGV.

The finding was from 1,068 respondents from diverse backgrounds, with 791 of them being Malays, selected through a stratified random sampling method.

The research showed that 46 percent of respondents from various ethnic backgrounds as well as 32 per cent of Malay respondents, express their preference for Anwar, the chairman of Pakatan Harapan (PH) to assume the role of Malaysia's Prime Minister.

Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin emerged as the second choice with 25 per cent of Malay respondents and 17 per cent of respondents from all races considering the former prime minister to be a suitable candidate for the premier post.

This is followed by Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Khairy Jamaluddin who received support from six per cent of respondents from all races.

In terms of party preferences, the survey indicated that if a general election (GE) were to be held tomorrow, the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition would garner the highest support.

Among respondents from all races, 39 per cent indicated their intention to vote for PH. Barisan Nasional (BN) received 18 per cent of votes while Perikatan Nasional (PN) received 17 per cent from the same group of respondents.

When asked about the most important factor in choosing which party to vote for, 30 per cent of Malay respondents and 22 per cent of respondents from all races touched on the issue of religion. This indicates that a significant portion of both groups considers religious matters as a crucial factor in their decision-making process.

The candidate factor ranked second among both Malay respondents and respondents from all races with 27 per cent of the votes in each group.

The public opinion survey was conducted over a period of April 4 to 18. The survey's margin of error is estimated to be between three and 3.5 per cent, calculated based on the number of registered voters in the Peninsula as of June 2022. - AWANI