KUCHING, Nov 5: Malaysian MPs should not rock the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government but to pass 2021 national budget.
The reason given by Institute of Strategic Analysis and Policy Research (Insap) was that the COVID-19 pandemic makes it not the right time for Malaysia to change government.
Additionally, Malaysians feel that if Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin resigns, a new government may not be more stable than the current one.
These were the key findings of a 2-day public opinion poll — “Does Malaysia need a New Government?” which drew 696 respondents conducted by Insap.
Insap deputy chairman Jacob Lee said in a press statement today that 68 per cent of respondents in the survey agreed that all MPs should heed the advice of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to pass the National Budget 2021.
In the same survey, 54 per cent of respondents disagreed that this is the right time to change the government. Additionally, 49 per cent disagreed that if the current Prime Minister resigns, a new Malaysian government formed will be more stable.
In the survey, 24 per cent of respondents disagreed that all MPs should heed the King’s advice to pass Budget 2021, with 8 per cent being neutral. Those who agreed exceeded those who disagreed by 44 per cent, according to the Insap survey.
“The survey showed that Malaysians in general wanted status quo in the Federal Government given the current third wave of Covid-19 pandemic which has hit Malaysia hard,” said Lee.
On Nov 4, there were a total of 1,032 new positive cases with eight new deaths, bringing the total Covid-19 cases in the country to 35,425 since January with 271 total deaths.
“Underscoring this danger, 43 per cent of respondents in the poll agree that Movement Control Order (MCO) to contain the spread of Covid-19 must be reimposed even at the expense of the economy. Some 45 per cent disagreed to reimposing MCO while 12 per cent were neutral,” said Lee.
This data reflects the foremost concern among Malaysians for job losses as the Social Security Organisation (Socso) has revealed last week that in a worst-case scenario, more than 100,000 Malaysians could be out of a job by the end of the year, Lee added.
From the age group perspective, 80 per cent of respondents in the 18 to 30 years old category agreed that all MPs should heed the King’s advice to pass Budget 2021, falling to 67 per cent for 31-40 age group, 60 per cent for 41- 50 age group, 59 per cent in the 51-60 age group and 42 per cent for those above 60 years old.
“What the data shows is that younger Malaysians recognise the dangers of more job losses if the Budget 2021 fails to pass,” Lee explained.
This year, youths are bearing the brunt of unemployment. The Ministry of Higher Education (MoH) disclosed on Sept 28, 2020 that Covid-19 caused unemployment rate among fresh graduates this year to jump to 25 per cent compared with 13.8 per cent in 2019.
“MoH said 75,000 out of 300,000 fresh graduates are expected to be unemployed this year. Youths understand the economic impact of Budget 2021 failing to pass on the economy which impacts employment opportunities,” said Lee.
Underscoring this, 64 per cent of those in the 18 to 30 and 31-40 age groups wants political stability stating that they disagree that this is the right time for Malaysia to change government.
This compared with 55 per cent among those in the 41-50 and 51-60 age groups, and 35 per cent for those above 60 years who are mostly retired. — DayakDaily
