YOURSAY ‘He is increasingly seen by the rakyat as a leader who sways with the wind and has no firm convictions of his own.'

Price hikes slash PM's approval rating by 10 points

Ferdtan: PM Najib Razak's approval rating dropped to 52 percent and the perception of the government, the number of respondents expressing happiness with the government also declined to 38 percent. There is a different of 14 percent between the two figures.

Both figures should be close. However, since it is not, it means that Najib's pre-election advertisement blitz promoting his image and his ‘hangouts' make him more acceptable than the government he leads.

Similarly, basing on various categories, it is the same scenario. Acceptance of Najib is higher than that of the government, but with both dropping below their last ratings.

Could it be that some respondents, in spite of knowing that we have a weak and ineffective PM, still dared not point fingers at Najib?

Kairos: The key factor that slashed the approval rating for our PM is the gradual erosion of trust in his leadership.

He is increasingly seen by the rakyat across the board as a leader who sways with the wind and has no firm convictions of his own. He plays to the gallery on racial and religious lines, a posture that is totally unbecoming of a PM for all races in Malaysia.

He is certainly ill-advised in his recent stand, or lack of it, in the midst of the inflammatory rhetorics at the Umno general assembly.

Now, with the introduction of price hikes for certain essential food items, the impending imposition of the goods and services tax (GST) and the impending toll hikes, it all points to a total breakdown of election promises and a going back on his word.

What the rakyat hate is a leader who is not trustworthy and behaves like a chameleon. With the Allah issue simmering among the Christian bumiputera population in East and West Malaysia, I predict that Najib's approval rating will slide further in the coming weeks.

Jbsuara: Najib's approval rating would be even lower in the Merdeka Center survey once the new toll rates are implemented in early 2014, and when GST is implemented in April 2015.

By now, most people have realised that the cause of the price hikes is due to an inept, wasteful and corrupt Umno-BN regime.

Anonymous #07988903: He knows how to play the game. By the next election, BR1M 2, 3, or 4 will come along and all those grateful people will push his popularity back up to the 60 percent. Time is a good medicine for pain.

YUNoAnon: Najib will say, "This is only one survey result. Over the last few years, it was positive, so most of the time I did good."

Or maybe he'll find some better analogy to relate to this situation. Cricket scores, perhaps?

Senior Citizen: Najib, I hope you are reading this and please take note of Malaysiakini readers' comments. You are the captain of a ship in the midst of a massive hurricane.

If the captain spends all the time playing cards and gambling away, then the ship will end up a disaster. Are you truly manning the ship and maintaining its command?

Slumdog: The support among some of the categories of voters is still very high despite the mountain of failures, scandals and broken promises engulfing Najib's government since GE13.

It only proves the presence of the unshakeable loyalty among a large number of voters who will continue to vote for BN regardless of the failure of the government in many areas of its administration.

It is a worrying trend and proves the power of the government-owned media and the government's dependence on rural voters. Don't get me started on Najib's bumbling, corrupt and inept ministers and their hangers-on.

Whatsup: So what, his popularity drop? Big deal. He's the mightiest - not a thing can be done by the rakyat.

Come GE14, more BR1Ms, vote-buying and all will be forgotten by the 47 percent, and all of us will have to suffer yet another five years of Umno abuse.

Vijay47: Malaysia must be a very sick place. Imagine, 38 percent of the people are satisfied with the government. Tanjung Rambutan will be expanding like mad soon.

Watchtower: This is the cost of winning GE13. The greater cost will be borne when the economy fails due to wrong policies.

Our education policy, particularly its implementation over the years, is already in the gutter. We are now fearful our economic policy will follow in the same direction.

Dark Archon: ‘Barang Naik' is expected, post-GE13. The way BN is handing out goodies does not come free nor cheap. Now, it's payback time. This is Najib's way of saying "Thank you for your support."

Bystander: We are made bankrupt by mismanagement, imprudent spending, unabated corruption, wastage, incompetency, stupidity, etc.

The rakyat are forced to bail out the government.

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