KUALA LUMPUR: Around 66 per cent of Malaysians are confident that the government, following the 14th general election, can steer the nation towards prosperity in the future.
A survey by independent global market research firm Ipsos, titled ‘What Worries Malaysia : Post GE 14’, almost 100 days after ushering in a new government, showed that two-thirds of Malaysians are confident that the country is on the right platform for continuous growth.
The majority of the 500 respondents who participated in the survey, conducted month from January to July this year, opined that Malaysia has a bright future and good economic prospects ahead of next year.
However, the research also showed that financial and political corruption are still a major source of concern, with 60 per cent of respondents hoping for continuous action from the government to tackle such issues.
“The respondents expressed hope that the government would be able to tackle financial and political corruption, apart from focusing on reducing unemployment and improving employment quality,” the survey showed.
The survey also showed that unemployment and work-related issued were the second highest concern among Malaysians at 43 per cent; crime was at 41 per cent and moral decline at 31 per cent.
These showed a respective increase from 33 per cent (for unemployment); 33 per cent for crime and 27 per cent for moral decline, recorded in April 2018.
The survey also underscored the new government’s effort in abolishing the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and reduce the cost of living, as well as tackling the people’s concerns over tax and inflation,” said the survey.
Meanwhile, Ipsos managing director, Arun Menon, said the positive sentiment expressed by the people to the government could galvanise the administration under Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
“We foresee this level of confidence increasing, whereby the people’s positive sentiment will be based on the measures adopted by the government in the future in tackling various issues, including corruption and taxes.
“The new government faces a huge challenge in maintaining the level of confidence and expectations of the public.
“There is a need for better accountability and scrutiny in their actions,” he said.
The survey was also done in parallel with Ipsos’ ”What Worries the World” survey as the market research firm engaged with respondents from 28 countries to assess their main concerns.