The Chinese Malaysians represents the ethnic group who wants political change most. 60% intend to vote for the opposition.
By contrast, only 30-ish % in the Malay and Indian communities are likely to switch to the opposition, though this figure shouldn’t be sneered at. But don't take the average pro-Opposition figure of 42% in above table seriously. In good ole Malaysia, there's no 'average', so I don't want opposition members to go into spasmodic orgasm yet.
Look at voting attitude by ethnicity
However, one reason that may have been forgotten or not mentioned, is that many Penang Chinese believe the next Penang CM will be from UMNO, and they know the bloke who’s pushing like mad for that is none other than the bloke with the golden 'pot of rice'.
Another reason that malaysiakini reported is that most Chinese respondents, 'being Chinese', have been worried about the country’s directionless economy, the price hikes last year and inflation - all rice bowl issues but alas, without their own golden 'pot of rice' as a safety net.
Merdeka Centre director, Ibrahim Suffian, has some comforting words for the MCA. He said: “We won’t call it a swing (of Chinese votes) yet because we need a few more polls to confirm this. But at this point in time, it seems to be a strong likelihood for the Chinese to register their protest in the next election.”
Besides, we all know that with some jolly judicious (j)gerrymandering, the worth of one Chinese vote could be decimal-ised to 0.118 of its face value, and this time, the '118' (decimal-ised) won't be auspicious for the DAP or PKR. Oh, the wonders of Malaysian political maths that would even befuddled the great Einstein.
Ibrahim Suffian said there was still time for the MCA and Gerakan to counter the negative sentiments before the general election.
He advocated: “Many measures can be taken to mitigate this situation, such as in the education sector. Lower world oil prices may even prompt the government to contemplate reducing oil prices, a move which will have broad effect on the electorate.”
Then explaining the obvious, Ibrahim said the stable Malay loyal preference for UMNO is because they have been ‘shielded and protected’ by the government in terms of income.
But strangely, the above table shows every ethnic group believes the nation needs a strong opposition, though with the exception of the Chinese community, that won't automatically translate into an equivalent vote for the Opposition. The Malays and Indians obviously prefer abstract concepts of a viable robust Opposition.
Ibrahim also cruelly cautioned PAS and PKR that they would face an uphill struggle as credible opposition parties
Hmmm, I wonder whether Anwar Ibrahim will be riding the ‘rocket’, ... er ... just to be an astronaut, you know!
all tables from malaysiakini
Related:
(1) MCA continues Ops Clawback
(2) MCA div leader: "We're as good as dead!"
(3) Operation Lion Clawback by MCA
Hmmm, one point raised my interest is that: 58% Malay think Malaysia needs a stronger opposition, but yet when asked to vote for opposition now, only 32% agree. What does it mean? You want to see something happen but you won't do the change by yourself? Indians seem to give out the similar poll to Malay too, only Chinese is a bit "consistent".
ReplyDeleteThe Chinese seems to be more belligerent because most of them have internet access and they're getting daily dose of corrupting news from websites such as this.
ReplyDeleteThose who get their news from mainsteam papers are more loyal. Hence the need to keep bloggers in check.
Idup Beee End....
The part about Indian sentiments I concur, but I can never understand.
ReplyDeleteIn spite of being heavily marginalised, facing a seriously deteriorating socio-political situation - poverty, lack of educational opportunities, discrimination etc. etc. , the Indian community has been consistently supportive of BN in general and MIC in particular. My Indian acquaintances, mostly educated, middle-class, aren't able to explain this satisfactorily to me.
It's like somebody keeps kicking you in the stomach and stabbing you in the back, but you keep on supporting him....what's the attraction of the MIC ?
kittykat:
ReplyDeletemay be this is what they called "Stockholm syndrome"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm_syndrome