Anwar top choice for PM, but Bossku phenomenon looms

KUALA LUMPUR – Pakatan Harapan (PH) president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim appears to be the leader most favoured by Johoreans to shoulder the post of prime minister, according to a survey carried out during the recent state polls.

Conducted by research centre Endeavour-MGC, the survey recorded Anwar receiving 21% of support from 1,068 respondents while former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is behind him at 18%.

Najib’s cousin Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein is in third place (17%), followed by Perikatan Nasional chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (14%) and current prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob (13%).

While Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan garnered the support of 4% of respondents, Pejuang chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin both obtained the backing of 3% of voters in the state.

Muda president Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman managed to generate 2% worth of support, beating International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali and PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang, who both received 1% each.

It is believed that the reason behind Anwar topping the list has to do with his leadership abilities, which have yet to be proven at the highest level, leading to respondents wanting to see whether the Port Dickson MP has the ability to extend his talents beyond party ranks as a prime minister.

People might also be reassured by the consensus of leaders among the opposition bloc who are respectful of Anwar to the point that he has remained a prominent leader of the PH coalition.

Government parties like Umno also appear to have no consensus with other parties, exemplified by its discontinued relationship with Bersatu and PAS as well as the unknown fate of Muafakat Nasional, leading to Anwar receiving credit for being the leader of the nation’s main opposition party.

The close competition between Anwar and Najib might be attributed to the Pekan MP’s “Bossku” campaign, which has played a big role in obtaining votes, especially from among the youth and Undi18 demographic.

Despite being labelled as the leader of the court cluster, Najib’s popularity continues to soar among the lower income group, with many recalling the many initiatives introduced during his time as prime minister such as financial aid that have been continued by the government through changes in leadership.

Hishammuddin, who is no longer part of Umno’s top leadership, still has the people’s respect due to him being the son of Malaysia’s third prime minister Tun Hussein Onn and the grandson of Umno founder Datuk Onn Jaafar.

He is also perceived as facing minimal controversies and practising fairly clean politics.

Meanwhile, with 14% of the people’s backing, Muhyiddin appears to have a fair chance at being prime minister, perhaps due to his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and ensuing issues as the nation faced an unprecedented global health crisis.

While Ismail Sabri still holds the title of prime minister and appears to be on good terms with the people, a majority of respondents believed that there are many other leaders who are more qualified, as there is a possible perception of him being a “junior” leader.

Syed Saddiq also being named as a candidate for prime minister is also a surprise, since the politician is seen as lacking in experience and too young to hold the highest governmental post.

Besides that, the survey recorded the decline of Dr Mahathir’s presence, as only 3% of respondents put forth his name, possibly due to how he is believed to have caused the fall of the PH government while constantly causing controversies.

However, among 590 Malay respondents in the same survey, Muhyiddin received the highest backing to be prime minister with 21%, followed by Hishammuddin (19%), Najib (18%), and Ismail Sabri (15%). Only 9% felt Anwar would be the best candidate.

No support for Zahid

Surprisingly, or perhaps not so, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi did not receive any percentage of support from the Malay community, despite being the leader of the nation’s biggest Malay party.

Although Warisan president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal has his fair share of popularity, experience and followers in the country’s political landscape, Malay respondents might see him as being more suited for state leadership, since he did not receive any voter percentage.

Among 390 Chinese respondents, a majority (38%) named Anwar as their choice for prime minister, far exceeding the 17% who singled Najib as their prime ministerial candidate.

Zahid and Hadi did not receive any number of votes from Chinese respondents.

As expected, for low income or B40 groups which yielded 482 respondents, many of them (22%) backed Najib, perhaps because he is considered a “hero” who consistently fights for their wellbeing, including urging the government to approve withdrawals from the Employees’ Provident Fund when the people were struggling to survive the pandemic.

Hishammuddin received 18% of support from the demographic, followed by Muhyiddin and Ismail Sabri with 15% each and Anwar at 14%.

On the flip side, statistics on the percentage of votes obtained from respondents among the M40 socioeconomic group involving 431 respondents recorded 25% naming Anwar as the most deserving of the prime minister title.

Similarly, among 540 respondents involving youth aged 18 to 39 years old, 20% backed Anwar as their choice for future prime minister.

This is in opposition with 528 respondents aged 40 and above who labelled Najib as their candidate, with 22% siding with him over Anwar.

The contrast might be due to the latter group’s more mature age during Najib’s administration when he ruled the nation for nine years, causing them to remember the patterns and policies of his leadership.

Besides having seen several controversies and not yet having been tested as a prime minister, Anwar might have also been denied their support because of how the PH government had only managed to rule for 22 months.

In detail, the survey recorded responses from Malays (55%), Chinese (37%), Indians (7%) and others (1%).

The age group of individuals selected as respondents includes those below 20 years old (7%), 20 to 39 years old (43%), 40 to 49 years old (33%), and over 50 years old (17%).

As for household income, a total of 45% of respondents earned less than RM4,850 (B40), a total of 40% earned RM4,850 to RM10,959 (M40), and 15% earned more than RM10,959 (T20). – The Vibes, April 25, 2022