Commissioned by reform group Projek Sama, the survey was conducted from March 27 to April 17 with 1,210 respondents across all 222 parliamentary constituencies.
According to the survey, public opinion on Najib’s bid for a pardon is split along ethnic and political lines.
While Najib enjoys majority support from Barisan Nasional voters and segments of the Malay and Muslim Bumiputera communities, the overall sentiment is against any move to pardon him.
“A total of 57.8% of respondents opposed his pardon plea, citing betrayal of public trust, ongoing legal cases, and his refusal to admit guilt.
“In contrast, only 32.7% supported a pardon, mostly on the grounds of Najib’s contributions to the country,” said Thomas Fann, a co-founder of Projek Sama.
Support among Muslim Bumiputeras stood at 50.5%, while 43% of Malays backed the pardon. In contrast, 95% of Chinese respondents and 51% of non-Muslim Bumiputeras opposed the move.
Najib, 70, was convicted of misappropriating RM42 million from SRC International Sdn Bhd and has been serving his sentence at Kajang prison since Aug 23, 2022.
On Feb 2 last year, the Federal Territories Pardons Board announced that the former prime minister’s prison sentence had been halved from 12 years to six, and his fine reduced from RM210 million to RM50 million.
Fann said that most urban respondents, or 63.6%, were opposed to pardoning Najib.
“The respondents who reject the idea of pardoning Najib range from high-income groups at 69.5% to 74.7% to private sector and self-employed workers at 63.2% to 64.5%,” he said.
The survey also gauged views on fairness in sentencing by presenting two contrasting cases: a lorry driver jailed three years for stealing bananas, and a national leader jailed 12 years and fined RM210 million for embezzlement.
Most respondents, or 54.8%, said the theft sentence was too harsh, while 44.3% found the embezzlement sentence appropriate. Another 40.8% said it was too light.
Overall, 85.1% of respondents saw no justification for reducing the sentence in the high-profile corruption case.
The survey also revealed differences in opinion regardless of political affiliation, with even BN supporters showing limited support for leniency.
“Even among BN supporters, 48.9% found the sentence fair and 32.8% thought it was too light – underlining strong public support for firm punishment in corruption cases, regardless of political affiliation,” Fann said.
Merdeka Center researcher Tan Seng Keat said the 1,210-person sample was consistent with international polling standards and reflected general public sentiment, although follow-up focus groups would be needed to explore the findings in depth.