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61% of those surveyed believe Malaysia heading in wrong direction source: https://www.tnp.sg/news/world/61-those-surveyed-believe-malaysia-heading-wrong-direction PETALING JAYA: Voter sentiment in Malaysia towards the Pakatan Harapan government has taken a slide following the handling of various contentious issues, a Merdeka Centre survey found. These include the Jawi lessons in vernacular schools, statements on civil servants' pension scheme and critical allowances. The poll found that 61 per cent of those surveyed believed that the country is headed in the wrong direction while only 26 per cent felt it was moving on the right track. Economic matters were the biggest concern for Malaysians, followed by leadership, administration, politics and racial issues. PREFERENCE The survey also showed that Chinese and Indian voters prefer Parti Keadilan Rakyat's president Anwar Ibrahim over Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. A preference poll between Dr Mahathir and Mr Anwar found that only 14 per cent of Indian voters and 20 per cent of Chinese voters as of November last year preferred the premier. However, Dr Mahathir's support among the Malays showed an increase - 42 per cent in October 2018 to 58 per cent in November last year. The survey noted that in July last year, the support for Dr Mahathir among the Indians dropped to 69 per cent, however, there was a 4 per cent increase in support for the premier from Chinese voters during the same period. The support for Dr Mahathir among the Chinese voters then dropped to 22 per cent in October and subsequently to 20 per cent in November. On the other hand, Mr Anwar seems to be favoured more among the Indian and Chinese voters while his support among the Malay voters has dwindled. The survey showed Mr Anwar's support from Indian voters went from 23 per cent in July last year to 62 per cent in November. During the same period, Mr Anwar also saw support from the Chinese community rise from 18 to 58 per cent. However, his popularity among Malay supporters dropped drastically throughout last year, from 31 per cent in October 2018 to 13 per cent in November. - THE STAR