Malaysia PM Anwar’s popularity rises on his investment push

MALAYSIAN Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s approval ratings rose to 54 per cent after two years in power on his push for more investments, according to latest opinion survey published by Merdeka Center on Monday (Dec 23). 

Anwar’s ratings are an improvement on the 50 per cent approval recorded last year in his first anniversary as prime minister, the pollster said. Voters were “generally satisfied” with Anwar’s performance in areas such as attracting investments, and improving the civil service, but they gave a “mixed assessment when asked about the efforts to strengthen the economy.”

“The tight spread between positives and negatives are largely driven by persistent concerns about cost of living pressures and some anxiety over subsidy cuts slated to take place in the future,” Merdeka Center said. 

Some 65 per cent of the survey respondents pointed to the economy as the number one problem facing the country, underscoring the juggling act Anwar faces to spur wage growth, bring down living costs and also manage the country’s fiscal deficit. 

Merdeka Center polled over 1,200 registered voters from Oct 10 to Nov 27. BLOOMBERG