More than half of Selangor voters will still keep Pakatan Rakyat (PR) as the state government if snap polls are held now to decide the menteri besar (MB) impasse, according to a survey by the Merdeka Center for Opinion Research.The survey, commissioned by The Malaysian Insider and conducted at the height of the impasse early August, also showed that 25% would support PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail as MB.
Her nomination had sparked an impasse as Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim refused to step aside, saying he still commanded the support of the majority of 56 assemblymen in the state legislature.
But, parties in PR have withdrawn their support and the two-term MB has now sought an audience with the Sultan of Selangor on his position.
The survey among 808 registered voters was conducted between August 11 and 17 by the respected pollster.
The poll coincided with Khalid's sacking of six PKR and DAP state executive councillors on August 12, and his decision to run the state government with only the four remaining PAS councillors.
The conflict within PR was only resolved on the night of August 17, when the PR Presidential Council decided that Khalid be replaced with Dr Wan Azizah.
Despite this, 57% of voters polled said they would give the PR coalition "the chance to govern the state again" should the Sultan of Selangor call for a dissolution of the state legislative assembly.
Whereas 29% said they would not give PR a chance to run the state, and 15% were uncertain, according to the survey which was conducted by telephone interviews.
But, only 43% of the respondents said they actually felt confident with Pakatan running the state, while 29% said they were confident with Barisan Nasional (BN), and 13% were indifferent.
"In our opinion, while the political developments in Selangor have dampened the mood of Selangor voters towards PR, the survey found contra-BN sentiments still strong among them," Merdeka Center said in a statement.
"This means that BN will still face an uphill struggle despite PR having suffered a loss of confidence and prestige among Selangor voters should an election be called at the current point in time."
The survey reported that 46% of voters still felt that their lives were better now than under BN's administration, while 36% said it was the same and only 15% said it was now worse.
But, the MB crisis has affected the views of the state, with only 46% of respondents saying Selangor was headed in the right direction, compared with 64% in March 2014.
The main concerns among voters were water supply issues (21%), followed by the MB issue (20%) and political instability in general (6%).
The voters were selected through random stratified sampling method along the lines of ethnicity, gender, age and polling districts, said the centre.
During his speech at the PKR Youth Congress today, deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali said the crisis was an opportunity for PKR to reflect and review its policies to strengthen the party and its cooperation with PR.
"We need to learn from the crisis. The lessons we learn from crises will make us stronger to manage crises in the future... experience from the struggles will contribute to our future," he said.
Newly-elected PKR vice-president Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin told the congress that the political imbroglio was sparked by a lack of consultation process in PR and the discipline to adhere to the decision reached.
Khalid remains the menteri besar for now, until he has an audience with the Selangor Sultan, who is away on an overseas trip, to discuss the matter.
The sultan is expected to return tomorrow, and may either decide to dissolve the legislative assembly, triggering a snap poll, or call for an emergency sitting so that a motion of confidence may be tabled. – August 22, 2014.
- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/despite-mb-impasse-poll-shows-pakatan-retains-support-in-selangor#sthash.wkQDEgJH.dpuf
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