69% of voters approve of Malaysian Prime Minister: Poll

KUALA LUMPUR Malaysia's Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has been rated highly by voters, according to a poll published yesterday, on his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and greater representation of the ethnic Malay majority in his administration.

Mr Muhyiddin received a 69 per cent approval rating in a survey run by independent pollster Merdeka Centre, six months after taking office in March following a power struggle that saw the collapse of the previous multi-ethnic government led by Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Survey respondents also gave a 93 per cent approval rating for the government's handling of Covid-19 and rated it highly for helping the needy and managing the economy during the coronavirus-induced crisis. Malaysia has reported just over 9,300 infections.

In the last popularity poll published by Merdeka Centre in April last year, less than half of Malaysians approved of then-premier Mahathir as concerns over rising costs and racial issues plagued his administration.

Merdeka Centre executive director Ibrahim Suffian said Malay voters indicated a strong preference for the administration's management of the pandemic and the ensuing economic fallout and for bringing together long-feuding Malay political parties.