By Sulyn Chong
SHAH ALAM, Nov 15 — Preferences over nominated candidates and political parties contesting in the coming 15th general elections (GE15) are among the top factors taken into account by Malaysian voters on who to vote for.
A survey by Institut Darul Ehsan (IDE) found that 20.1 per cent of the 2,423 respondents would make their choices based on the candidates fielded while 11 per cent would choose based on the party itself.
Its executive chairman Prof Datuk Dr Mohammad Redzuan Othman said among the other preferences the voters have when choosing their preferred candidates include the leader of the party, its manifesto or campaign, the economic situation and incentives or assistance given.
“The party’s manifesto, which stands at 24.1 per cent, is also a big factor in determining the people’s choice in who to vote.
“Because the survey was done before the nomination day, so many were interested to know what the party can offer instead,” he said during the presentation of ‘The People’s Mood #MoodoftheNation IDE Survey: The Landscape Study of the Perception of the Malaysian People Ahead of the 15th General Election’, here today.
In addition, Dr Mohammad Redzuan said that the survey found that Pakatan Harapan (Harapan) is the most preferred coalition of choice at 30.7 per cent, followed by 28.7 per cent fence-sitters. Barisan Nasional comes in third at 27.9 per cent.
Meanwhile, the survey showed 79 per cent of the voters in the Peninsula will turn out to vote in GE15, and only 4.6 per cent said they will not vote, while 16.4 per cent were unsure.
“There were some people who said that Malaysians are experiencing ‘political fatigue’ and they are not inclined to go out to vote.
“However, our survey showed the opposite. People are ready to vote. The idea that Malaysians are tired, bored, and disinterested in voting is unfounded,” he said.
The survey involved 46 enumerators from several higher education institutions in Peninsula Malaysia. It is a joint venture between the Toyo University of Japan with the cooperation of Universiti Selangor’s (Unisel) Institute for the Study of Elections and the Development of Democracy (IESAD).
The respondents were randomly selected and structured survey questions were provided using the innovative IDE e-Survey form app and tablets. They were selected from 165 parliamentary seats in a face-to-face survey that ran for 14 days from October 21 until November 4.
