2 in 3 Chinese will vote Opposition!

According to independent opinion research firm, Merdeka Centre, the MCA and Gerakan will be in deep poo, comes the next general election.

The Chinese Malaysians represents the ethnic group who wants political change most. 60% intend to vote for the opposition.

Mate, that’s two in every three Chinese Malaysian voters. No wonder Ong Ka Ting has been busy with his Ops Clawback and daily motherhood statements aimed at the Chinese voters.

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

The above table on voting attitudes shows Malays will be voting for stability while Indians will be influenced by the socio-economic problems the group faces, hardly surprising when they're the most marginalised Malaysians.

If we look at 'issues affecting the ethnic group' the Malays are the group least concerned in stark contrast to Indians - a fairly reliable finding, which we already know without the need for a survey.

The reason Chinese respondents in the survey appear to have a strong desire for change is obvious. I needn’t say much.

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'.

Of course HE is looking at beyond a mere CM’s post, but there’s no doubt HE has been pushing for total 'domination' to make HIMself popular as an ethnic pahlawan (warrior) - jolly good 'prep' for higher things - hey, for HIM the sky's the limit.

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.”

So expect some heavy pork barrelling in Chinese constituencies comes the next general election.

Ibrahim said some of AAB’s projects are expected to benefit the economy, and would be milked for all its publicity to show that he has kept his promises.

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