Even though almost all Malaysians pointed to the country’s economic problems as their main worry, it seems that many are not looking to the government for answers.

More than half of those surveyed, or 54 percent of the respondents in the recent Merdeka Center poll, said they “do not believe in the government’s statements about the economy”.

In fact, about one in five surveyed said that they “strongly disbelieved” such statements.

perception towards government merdeka center december 2013 The survey had also asked the people to list out what they thought was the number one problem facing the country and “economic concerns” was listed by 67 percent of the respondents.

The other concerns which ranked much lower were racial issues, political issues and crime and social problems.

Also, about 55 percent of the 1,000 Malaysians surveyed nationwide said they also do not understand the goods and services tax (GST) which was tabled by the prime minister in Budget 2014.

The GST has been on the drawing board for over a decade and is touted to help Malaysia achieve developed nation status by 2020. It is to be implemented on April 1, 2015.

This poll was conducted after the reduction of fuel subsidies in September and the tabling of the 2014 budget the following month.

'One one percent believe in government talk'

Merdeka Center said its survey registered concerns from the people on the impact of rising costs. Compared with a similar poll a year ago, 53 percent now viewed the economy in general as "unfavourable", compared to 37 percent before.

More people expressed worries about prices of goods and services, job opportunities, business opportunities and personal income.

In recent weeks, price hikes have been announced for electricity, public transport and highway tolls, to take effect next year.

While the government maintains that cutbacks in subsidies are good for the economy in the long-term and necessary to curb government debt, which has accumulated from 15 years of overspending, the people are not convinced that it was making true statements, the survey shows.

The Merdeka Center survey also reveals that only one percent of the respondents "strongly believed" in the talk of the government leaders on the economy. And similarly, only one percent said they understood a great deal about the GST.

In the survey carried out from Dec 4 to 12, Merdeka Center interviewed 1,005 voters aged 21 and above via telephone. About 40 percent of those surveyed work with the private sector and about 30 percent declared a household income of RM1,500 to RM3,000.

Download Merdeka Center report

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