The Ipsos survey is a monthly exercise which tracks the concerns of Malaysians along with those of citizens of other countries. Some 500 Malaysians of different races, genders and income levels, among others, are asked to rank their top three concerns.
At a press conference here today, Ipsos managing director Arun Menon presented the findings of its April and July surveys in a report titled “What Worries Malaysia: Post-GE14”.
Arun said in April, the respondents were most concerned about financial and political corruption (66%), unemployment and jobs (33%) and crime and violence (33%).
In July, fewer respondents were concerned about political and financial corruption (60%), while more were worried about unemployment and jobs (43%) and crime and violence (41%).
“We ask for their main concerns and interpret the data. What we see is that corruption scandals are still a concern because there are new revelations almost every day.”
He said people also appeared concerned over what the government would do to make sure that history does not repeat itself.
“For jobs and unemployment, these are areas the government should start focusing on as they affect the people’s daily lives. After the election excitement, people will focus on day-to-day matters like jobs and crime.”
Arun also noted a decrease in concerns in the areas of taxes (28% in April to 14% in July) and inflation (24% in April to 16% in July).
He said this was likely due to the zero-rating of the goods and services tax, which the company interpreted as Malaysians recognising the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government’s efforts on taxes and reducing the cost of living.
Overall, Arun said, Putrajaya should increase its focus on unemployment and crime, with a sustained crackdown on financial and political corruption.
He noted that in April, only 35% of respondents felt the country was on the right path, compared to the global average of 41% at the time.
“But in June, after the election, this shot up to 75% against the global average of 43%. In July, we saw some calibration with day-to-day realities with 66% of respondents feeling the country was on the right path.”
Despite the dip, Arun said, this was still higher than the global average for July of 44%.
He said the higher positive sentiments of Malaysians meant a resurgence of confidence among the people although this would also present a challenge for PH as it was facing an all-time high in terms of expectations.
“There is also a need for better accountability and scrutiny of their actions. After the first 100 days, we should expect to see the focus shift to day-to-day realities.”
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