Posts Tagged ‘Survey’

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Malaysia ranks high in peacefulness and safety

June 20th, 2011
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Two, yes TWO, good news recently that puts us high on the positive side.

First, we are among the top countries in the Global Peace Index, number 19th to be exact. Let’s see what our DG of National Unity and Integration Department says:

Malaysia leads Asean countries and ranks second in Asia, after Japan, in the list of countries which succeed in maintaining unity among their people.

National Unity and Integration Department director-general Azman Azmin Hassan said that based on the list issued by the Global Peace Index, Malaysia was at 19th position among the countries in the world.

“The country’s success in fostering unity has attracted the world to learn how Malaysia does it.

“This is due to the capability of the country’s leaders in maintaining unity among the people of various races, resulting in Malaysia being invited by the United Nations to table a working paper on unity in New York next month.”

He told this to reporters after the opening of the state-level Unity Week 2011 celebration at the Air Tawar Beach Resort in Besut today by State Health, Unity and Consumer Affairs Committee chairman Dr A Rahman Mokhtar.

Azman said that with such a recognition given to Malaysia, there was no doubt about the peaceful situation in the country.

Hence, he advised the people to maintain racial harmony in the country and to cooperate with the government to avoid any incident that could jeopardise the harmonious situation.

source: http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/167333

Readers should then head to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Peace_Index to read about this index.

The GPI’s website is at http://www.visionofhumanity.org/gpi-data/#/2011/conf/ and Malaysia’s details is at http://www.visionofhumanity.org/gpi-data/#/2011/scor/MY/detail as below:


PEACE INDICATORS SCORE
Number of external and internal conflicts fought 1
Estimated number of deaths from organised conflict (external) 1
Number of deaths from organised conflict (internal) 1
Level of organized conflict (internal) 1
Relations with neighbouring countries 1
Level of perceived criminality in society 2
Number of displaced people as a percentage of the population 1
Political instability 1.5
Level of disrespect for human rights 2
Potential for terriorist acts 2
Number of homicides per 100,000 people 2
Level of violent crime 2
Likelihood of violent demonstrations 3
Number of jailed population per 100,000 people 1.5
Number of internal security officers and police 100,000 people 2
Military expenditure as a percentage of GDP 1.5
Number of armed services personnel per 100,000 people 1
Exports of major conventional weapons per 100,000 people 1
Imports of major conventional weapons per 100,000 people 1.5
Funding for UN peacekeeping missions 1
Aggregate weighted number of heavy weapons per 100,000 people 1
Ease of access to small arms and light weapons 1
Military capability/sophistication 3

 

Malaysia has been improving steadily over the years. This due to mainly our non-involvement in wars (external or internal) for the citizens, lower values for defence/military related indicators (except military capability).

As mentioned in the article above, we are number 2 (just behind Japan) in Asia and 19th in the world.

Next good news, The World Justice Project’s Rule of Law index says :

The World Justice Project’s (WJP) Rule of Law Index 2011 report revealed that Malaysia was ranked first among 19 upper-middle income countries for safety, putting the country on par with other nations such as France and Belgium.

Malaysia attained 12th position, one position ahead of United States which ranked 13th and Britain ranked 14th in country’s safety.

WJP Rule of Law Index director Juan Botero said the index measures implementation and enforcement of laws in practice and their effects on people’s lives.

The report showed that Malaysia scored 1 for effectively limited civil conflicts and 0.5 for the absence of crime and people not resorting to violence.

The Index score range is between 0 being the lowest and 1 being the highest.

WJP executive director Hongxia Liu said that acquiring the rule of law was an ongoing challenge and a continuous work in progress in all countries.

Liu added the Index is not designed to shame or blame but to provide helpful benchmarks for other countries in the same regions that had similar legal cultures and income levels.

source: http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/6/20/nation/8925273&sec=nation

You can read the report of this index at http://worldjusticeproject.org/sites/default/files/wjproli2011_0.pdf (Malaysia’s statistics is on page 78).

 

Yes, we are 1st among the 19 countries with similar income, but overall we are somewhere in the middle.

??

Oh, you may want to read page 29 of the report as well:

As with many other countries in the region, Malaysia  presents a contrasting view. Compared with other upper-middle income countries, Malaysia’s government is relatively accountable, although corruption, political interference, and impunity still exist. The efficiency and transparency of government agencies can still improve, and efforts should also be made in the area of access to justice (ranking 44th globally, and 14th in the upper-middle income group). The country is safe, ranking 1stamong 19 income peers and on a par with countries such as France and Belgium. However, abuses by the police still occur. Of particular concern is the situation posed by violations of fundamental rights, where Malaysia ranks 59th out of 66 countries.

So we are doing not bad, but why Jobstreet survey says nearly 80% of the interviewees (700 of them) would work abroad if got the chance:

An online recruitment company said results from a survey on local jobseekers confirm that money, career growth and children’s education are the main factors behind the country’s brain drain.

JobStreet.com today released the results of their survey of 700 over respondents – over 80 percent of whom are in middle to senior positions – on their interests in working abroad, and the reasons behind it.

The survey revealed just under a third (33 percent) of the respondents are already actively seeking overseas employment while 30 percent are passively looking. Another 30 percent are still weighing the pros and cons of working abroad.

42 percent cited better income as the key reason for their choice, while 24 percent cited career advancement, and 13 percent were thinking of their children’s education. 

Unfortunately for the government and the Talent Corp, only 2.4 of the respondents said they were staying in the country to “contribute to national interest”.

Over half said they were not working abroad mainly because of their families.

Top in destinations for job seeking was Australia (24 percent) followed by Singapore (16 percent), followed by UK (15 percent), US (10 percent), Far East (8 percent) and New Zealand (7 percent).

The survey, conducted in May, comprised 40 percent senior executives, 29 percent managers and 16 percent senior managers, with junior executives making up the rest. 

Jobstreet said 60 percent were male and 40 percent female, while ethnic breakdown was not cited.

source: http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/167446

I guess the indices may not translate into a good environment in terms of wealth accumulation or career opportunities for those interviewed.

PS: I guess it will be similar next year.

 

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IIUM Study on voters and current issues

October 9th, 2010
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Interesting to read that 14% of Indians are choosing not to choose any sides. Probably they realised being taken for a ride by both groups? Assuming that previous study has 0% of non-choosers, that would mean Indians support for PR dropped a whopping 10%!

With 59% still supporting BN, MIC can still breath a bit.

As it is, with the issues grappling PR coalition, it would only further enhance BN, unless of course BN shoot themselves with words/(in)actions that hurt the community.

Also, I think the respondent category for Malay/Bumiputera should be split to get a more clearer picture. Not all Bumiputeras are Malays.

Note that the number of respondents are just 1367, and may not be indicative of the true situation.

The report:

The people’s support for the Barisan Nasional (BN) has increased of late compared to during the 2008 general election, according to a recent study conducted by the International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM).

The study shows that BN’s popularity increased by four per cent to 55 per cent from 51 per cent during the 2008 general election, while only 37 per cent of Malaysians are willing to vote for Pakatan Rakyat (PR), a drop of 12 per cent from 49 per cent in the same period.

Eight per cent of the 1,367 respondents in the survey said they were unsure which party they would vote for if elections were to be called tomorrow.

The same study was done in August 2009 involving 1,458 respondents.

According to the latest study, Malay support for BN has increased by three per cent to 61 per cent in August 2010 from 58 per cent in August 2009. Chinese support for BN is still low but has increased by two per cent from 40 per cent previously.

However, support from the Indian community has dropped from 63 per cent to 59 per cent because 14 per cent of them chose not to support any party.

The study was done from August 1 to 18 nationwide to obtain the views of respondents aged 21 and above, on current issues. The 1,367 respondents comprised Malays/Bumiputeras, Chinese, Indians and Malaysians of other races.

The study was headed by Azrul Hisyam Wakichan and supervised by Prof Datuk Seri Syed Arabi Idid, senior lecturer of the university’s Commmunications Department.

According to the study, BN’s increased popularity is due to several factors, including the effectiveness of the government’s programmes and that the BN component parties have recovered from their internal problems, as well as Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s leadership.

Pakatan Rakyat’s popularity, on the other hand, has taken a dip due to the internal squabbles among party members and between its component parties, and its failure to fulfil the promises made in the last general election. – Bernama

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Support for PM and 1Malaysia increases

June 8th, 2010
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Latest Merdeka Center survey says PM Najib’s approval rating increased by 3% last Month (69% in April to 72% in May). The telephone survey was of 1,028 registered voters aged 21 and above, in peninsular Malaysia, from May 6 to 16.

The results also showed that 53% of voters chose “fighting corruption” as the most important issue the Government should concentrate on.

The poll revealed that 61% of the respondents were dissatisfied with efforts to fight corruption while 57% were dissatisfied with efforts to combat crime.

Malaysiakini has some summary of the survey:

The upward trend in Najib’s approval rating was consistent for all three races since Merdeka Centre began gauging his popularity in March last year.

However, Najib’s high approval rating does not translate into comparable responses to subsequent questions, with many respondents expressing skepticism over his major plans. 

For example, only 50 percent of respondents were “confident” that Najib could achieve his targets for his 1Malaysia concept, Government Transformation Plan and New Economic Model, within two years. 

Of the three races, Indians (65 percent) and Malays (60 percent) were confident that it could be achieved while conversely, Chinese (60 percent) were not confident it could be done. 

In another question, 58 percent of respondents agreed that Najib’s administration were good planners but weak implementers, like his predecessors. 

Almost three quarters of Chinese respondents (74 percent) agreed to this statement, followed by Malays (51 percent) and Indians (43 percent).

The survey was done between May 6 and 16 this year – a 10-day period just after the Hulu Selangor by-election (April 25) and before the Sibu by-election (May 16).

Najib’s popularity confirms that he is still the key asset in the BN’s electoral campaign.

His approval rating was a dismal 44 percent when he took over as the economy was slipping into unforgiving negative territory, and he seemed vulnerable as he was pelted by bad news everywhere he turned.

According to Merdeka Centre, a total of 1,028 Malaysians were randomly surveyed by telephone and the poll has an error margin of 3.1 percent.

Interestingly, almost half or 47 percent of the respondents said they are unemployed or “not in the workforce”.

Crime and corruption

On the government’s six National Key Result Areas (NKRA), majority of respondents said they were “satisfied” with the:

  • Government’s assistance to the needy
  • Improvement of rural living standards
  • Improvement in urban public transport
  • Improvement in primary and secondary education

On the negative side, 61 percent of respondents said they were unsatisfied with government efforts to stamp out corruption, while 57 percent said they were unsatisfied with crime reduction efforts.

Compared to a similar questioned asked in a December 2009 survey, there was a marked increase in dissatisfaction over the government’s graft-busting effort, from 52 percent to 61 percent.

Similarly, disgruntlement over crime-fighting efforts were up from 46 percent in December 2009 to 57 percent in the current survey.

In terms of satsifaction to improvements to education and transport, ratings increased only marginally compared to December 2009 data.

Follow-up questions on areas which need the most attention from the authorities saw respondents choosing graft-busting and crime reduction as the government’s main priorities.

Najib introduced the NKRAs on July 27 last year and appointed lead ministers for each NKRA to ensure achievement-based management.

Survey Slides: http://www.merdeka.org/v2/index.php?option=com_jotloader&section=files&task=download&cid=70_3b8f044921f17618a271703891135b9d&Itemid=68

Interesting to note that 80% of the Indians approve of the PM’s performance so far. Not sure if the statistics will drop after the annual JPA, matriculation and IPTA disappointment is highlighted this month.

Meanwhile, 1Malaysia concept is now accepted by 80 percent of the people. This survey involved 12,200 respondents, but not details on the survey demographics.

The 1Malaysia concept is now accepted by 80 percent of the people in the country, Information director-general Abdullah Murad said.  He said the remaining comprised those staying in the interior areas where they had problems having access to information on the concept which was introduced by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak two years ago.

“Understanding also varies because of political differences,” he told reporters after opening the “Bersama Mu 1Malaysia” programme at the Cancun Park National Service Training Centre, Kampung Kangkung in Pasir Mas, Kelantan, yesterday.

Abdullah said the statistic was obtained from a study which involved 12,200 respondents in the country.

“We will get our officers to explain the matter to those who have yet to accept the 1Malaysia concept,” he added.

I won’t be surprised if the Indian community are supportive of the 1Malaysia campaign as well. We are actually quite easily swayed. Its a double-edged sword because the community can be considered ungrateful (like Ibrahim or Peter Chin likes to say) and it also keeps the politicians on the edge because have to win over the community from time to time with some small tokens.

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Top 50 people that Malaysians trust!

February 25th, 2010
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The list is at the bottom of the article. I didn’t take part in this survey, and nope, it didn’t contain politicians for the obvious reasons. There were 760 respondents, so its not much of an indicator, just for laughs I guess. Nicol and the rest are at the top due to least (no) controversial stuff about her. No lifestyle issues, no scandals, no criminal insinuations, etc. Plenty of achievements, battling against odds and on global platform also seem to boost their trustworthiness.

PETALING JAYA: Among all the famous personalities in the country, the one Malaysians trust the most is Datuk Nicol Ann David, the world’s top-ranked women’s squash player.

Nicol topped the list in the inaugural Malaysians’ Most Trusted People and Professions survey, with her spirit of competition and drive for success.

The online survey, conducted by Reader’s Digest Asia, had a total of 760 respondents between 20 and 59 years of age from around the country.

Others in the top 10 (in order) are Mercy Malaysia founder Tan Sri Dr Jemilah Mahmood, badminton star Datuk Lee Chong Wei, Datuk Mohd Nor Khalid (a.k.a. the cartoonist Lat), shoe designer Datuk Jimmy Choo, actress and singer Adibah Noor, actress Datuk Michelle Yeoh, veteran actor Tan Sri Jins Shamsuddin, actor and comedian Afdlin Shauki and Chef Wan.

According to Reader’s Digest Asia managing editor Siti Rohani, the survey on trusted personalities was a natural extension of its Trusted Brands survey, which has been running for the past eight years.

Fifty personalities were picked based on their popularity and visibility, and respondents were asked to rank them according to their preference.

“We wanted to have a good mix of people – after all, we are looking at 50 people in a nation of millions. There was no science behind it, and we wanted to keep it fun and light-hearted,” Siti Rohani said.

This is also why there were no politicians on the list.

“Once you introduce politics into such a survey, it takes it to different level and makes it more serious,” she said.

She also noted that predominantly, the most trusted people were those who have achieved international recognition.

“There are many in the top 10 who have managed to put Malaysia on the map. For example Nicol, Lee Chong Wei, Jimmy Choo and Michelle Yeoh have made it really big in their respective fields and succeeded on an international platform.

“They are our national heroes, so to speak,” said Siti Rohani.

Additionally, the survey found that the top five trusted professions (in ranking order) were pilots, teachers, doctors, paramedics and firefighters.

“These are the people we turn to when hurt, injured or need help, so we need to trust the people in those positions.

“Teachers prepare us for the future, and they are people we respect and look to for help. It is great they made it into list,” Siti Rohani.

The full article and results of the survey will be published in the March 2010 issue of the Malaysian edition of the Reader’s Digest, which would be available in newstands from Friday.

The Top 50 Most Trusted People
1) Nicol David (squash world champion)
2) Dr Jemilah Mahmood (founder of Mercy Malaysia)
3) Lee Chong Wei (badminton Olympic silver medalist, Beijing Games)
4) Lat aka Mohd Nor Khalid (cartoonist)
5) Jimmy Choo (shoe designer)
6) Adibah Noor (singer/actress)
7) Michelle Yeoh (Hollwood actor)
8) Jins Shamsuddin (veteran actor)
9) Afdlin Shauki (aka Chief Kodok, actor/comedian)
10) Chef Wan (chef)
11) Paduka Sharifah Mazlina (adventurer, first Malaysian woman Antarctic Solo Expeditor)
12) Misbun Sidek (badminton coach)
13) Ivy Josiah (executive Director, Women’s Aid Organisation)
14) Marina Mahathir (AIDS advocate)
15) Aznil Nawawi (actor/compere)
16) M Nasir (singer)
17) Zang Toi (designer)
18) Rashid Sidek (badminton player)
19) Jailani Sidek (badminton world champion)
20) Gurmit Singh K.S. (executive director of the Centre for Environment)
21) Amy Mastura (singer)
22) Sheila Majid (singer)
23) Siti Nurhaliza (singer)
24) Shebby Singh (former football coach, football presenter)
25) Razif Sidek (badminton player)
26) Jaclyn Victor (Malaysian Idol)
27) Maya Karin (actress, television personality and singer)
28) Ahmad Idham (movie director)
29) Harith Iskandar (comedian, actor)
30) Erma Fatima (actor)
31) Ramli Ibrahim (choreographer)
32) Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor (astronaut)
33) Irene Fernandez (migrant worker activist)
34) Kee Thuan Chye (dramatist, poet and journalist)
35) Aziz M. Osman (director)
36) Tiara Jacquelina (actress/producer)
37) Alex Yoong (race car driver)
38) Asha Gill (television personality)
39) Fish Leong (singer)
40) Soo Kui Jien (tv presenter)
41) Mano Maniam (Fulbright scholar/actor)
42) Deanna Yusoff (actress)
43) Sharifah Amani (actress)
44) Reshmonu (singer)
45) Lee Sinje(actress)
46) Ning Baizura (singer)
47) Ella aka Norzila binti Haji Aminuddin (singer)
48) Lillian Too (feng shui master)
49) Awie (singer-actor)
50) Azwan Ali (TV host)

The Top 10 Most Trusted Professions
Pilot
Teacher
Doctor
Paramedic
Firefighter
Surgeon
Scientist
Dentist
Pharmacist
Nurse

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Selangor MB ratings drop

January 28th, 2010
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Indeed a bitter pill to swallow for the MB. His ratings dropped 8 points in last 6 months, while the state government itself dropped 4 points. Blaming it on mainstream media may be considered as trivial. The state have nearly two years now, and people can’t be easily swayed by media. If the work is done properly, then support will be there. Selangor being one of the most advanced state surely has lots of people with access to Internet and alternative media. The state government may be running out of excuses soon.

According to a Merdeka Centre poll, the MB’s approval rating has dropped eight points in recent months – from a high of 62 percent in June 2009 to 54 percent in January this year.

The survey comes hot in the heels of recent claims of rampant dissatisfaction in the state with Khalid’s rule.

However, interestingly the approval rating for the state government has remained quite strong – it stands at 60 percent, only losing ground slightly from 64 percent in June 2009.

The survey was revealed today in a close-door discussion on the public perception towards the Pakatan Rakyat state government at a Pakatan Rakyat retreat in Subang Jaya.

Sources said Khalid strutted his usual corporate savvy by stressing the need to serve Selangor’s five million residents, or “customers” as he calls it, with the outmost efficiently.

He also appealed to the elected representatives to win over the state public service institution in order for state policies to be implemented smoothly.

Speaking to reporters during a break later, the main organisation of the retreat Yaakob Sapari said the surveys commissioned by the state had helped identify weaknesses in the Pakatan government.

An area of concern was the state government’s problems in communicating with the public.

“Currently, the public mostly subscribe to the mainstream media, as such information from the government does not get through. Only a few actually use the alternative media,” he said.

“This is something that we must address to make sure that our message gets through to the public”.

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