KUALA LUMPUR, JUNE 26 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim continues to receive positive ratings when he recorded the highest support rate, at 52 percent, compared to other political leaders, according to the latest Merdeka Center survey released yesterday.
The survey conducted between March 12 and April 9 this year also found that 42 percent of Malaysian voters still believe that the country is on the right track despite facing increasing international uncertainty and economic challenges.
Merdeka Center, in a statement yesterday, announced that the percentage remained unchanged compared to the figures recorded in December 2025 and February 2026.
“Across ethnic groups, 39 percent of Malay respondents said the country was heading in the right direction compared to 50 percent among Chinese respondents and 33 percent of Indian respondents.
“By age group, respondents aged 21 to 30 recorded the highest positive sentiment at 57 percent, while those aged 51 to 60 were the least optimistic group at only 32 percent,” the statement said.
In terms of satisfaction levels with the Federal Government, 50 percent of respondents stated they were satisfied, while another 48 percent were dissatisfied.
Based on ethnic groups, Muslim and non-Muslim Bumiputera respondents from Sabah and Sabah recorded the highest level of satisfaction with 68 percent, followed by Chinese respondents at 53 percent, while Indian and Malay respondents recorded satisfaction levels of 46 percent and 44 percent respectively.
Young respondents aged 21 to 30 recorded the highest level of satisfaction with 64 percent expressing support for the Federal Government.
According to the survey, support for institutional reform remains strong with strong support given to proposals to limit the Prime Minister’s term to a maximum of two terms or 10 years, separate the roles of the Attorney General and Public Prosecutor, and introduce direct elections for the Mayor of Kuala Lumpur.
“It is worth noting that support for this political reform shows little difference between Malay and non-Malay respondents, thus showing that the proposal has broad support across various races,” the statement said.
The survey involved 1,209 voters comprising 51 percent Malays, 27 percent Chinese, eight percent Indians, seven percent Muslim Bumiputeras and seven percent non-Muslim Bumiputeras (from Sabah and Sarawak), through telephone interviews using a stratified random sampling method to reflect the demographics of voters in Malaysia.
— BERNAMA
