A statewide survey by Selangor’s Institute Darul Ehsan (IDE) found that some Malay voters in the state’s Malay-majority constituencies will continue to pledge their support for Najib and his BN government no matter what.
“They believe that the 1MDB affair does not affect the country as at the end of the day, they’ll still get their pay, they can buy food, and they can live comfortably,” said IDE’s Deputy Chairman Mohammad Redzuan Othman.
He also said the method used to conduct the survey allowed IDE to distinguish between the supporters of BN, the Opposition and those who are still unsure of their allegiance.
Mohammad Redzuan was speaking at a press conference where he revealed the results of a poll which involved 1,761 registered voters in Selangor.
Another finding by the IDE was that 40 per cent of BN supporters in Selangor wanted to see legal action taken against the mysterious Malaysian Official One (MO1), who was named in the July 20 US Department of Justice (DoJ) civil forfeiture suits, involving alleged misappropriation of 1MDB funds.
When all the respondents were considered, 54 per cent expressed the same hope.
The DoJ has until today refused to reveal the identity of MO1. Despite this, Opposition leaders and Umno Supreme Council Member Abdul Rahman Dahlan have all claimed that Najib is the controversial figure.
Attorney-General Mohamed Apandi said on July 21 that there had been no evidence from any probe conducted by law enforcement agencies across the globe that showed funds were misappropriated from 1MDB.
No criminal charges have been made against any individuals for misappropriation from 1MDB, he said.
Apandi also expressed “strong concerns at the insinuations and allegations” of wrongdoing made against Najib in relation to the lawsuits.
On a separate matter, Mohammad Redzuan asserted that the Election Commission’s (EC) redelineation proposal may allow BN to continue its reign with just a popular vote of 35 per cent.
“Based on my calculation, this is already enough for BN to have enough seats in the Parliament.
“I know the redelineation proposal is not final, but looking at what has been published, the number of popular votes BN needs this time, may be fewer (than it was prior to the 13th General Election).”
DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang had last week criticised the redelineation proposal which he described as having “butchered” the map of Selangor.
Lim also claimed that the exercise was aimed at helping Umno regain Selangor from Federal Opposition parties – PKR, DAP, Amanah and PAS – which collectively hold the majority in the state government.