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Most Malay Voters Do Not Support 'Red Shirt' Rally - Merdeka Center Polls
15-Sept-2015, malaysiandigest.com

Independent pollster Merdeka Center has confirmed what many Malaysians already suspected - majority of the Malays themselves do not support the Himpunan Rakyat Bersatu set to take place on Malaysia Day, September 16.

In a press release today, Merdeka Center announced the results of a poll conducted between September 10 to 15 this year nationwide.

The result? Let the numbers speak for themselves.

"53% were not in favor of the upcoming Himpunan Rakyat Bersatu or “Red Shirt” rally to be held on September 16 in Kuala Lumpur.

"The survey found that only 24% of the respondents supported the Himpunan Rakyat Bersatu rally while 53% of the respondents did not support and 22% were not sure. The survey found that supporters of the rally were distinguished along gender, urban-rural as well as socio-economic lines.

"Supporters of the rally were mostly drawn from among males (31% as opposed to 17% women), those who were older (27% among those above 40 and 22% among those under 40 years old) and those with internet access (25% compared to 22% of those without).

"Perhaps the most marked findings was that the lack of support for the rally was evident across the political divide, where 56% of Barisan Nasional supporters, 60% of Opposition supporters and 51% of undecided voters reported that they did not support the rally."

A further analysis of the data they compiled led the pollster to conclude that Malay voters are more concerned with other issues that they perceive as having a more direct impact in their daily life, like cost of living and GST.

"In our opinion, this survey which follows an earlier one related to the August 29th BERSIH 4 rally, reveals that Malay voters were largely not attracted to the issues promoted by the organizers by both rallies (i.e. BERSIH 4 and Himpunan Rakyat Bersatu).

"In our view, Malay voters are at present largely more concerned over fundamental issues such as cost of living, employment and business opportunities as well as the impact of the Goods and Services Tax."

For a more detailed report on the survey result, you can access the full report here