Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi may be more popular in Umno than the other two vice-presidents, including Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein.

But according to a survey, Malaysians prefer the latter for the prime minister’s post, with 19.8 percent of respondents picking him to take over the helm after his cousin Najib Abdul Razak and current number two Muhyiddin Yassin step down.

Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin ( left ), who is a more junior leader than Zahid, came in second with 8.6 percent, while Zahid took third place with 8.4 percent.

The survey of 1,008 respondents was commissioned by The Malaysian Insider and conducted by Merdeka Centre.

During the 2013 Umno polls, Zahid, whose reputation took a bruising over the recent saga concerning a letter he penned to the Federal Bureau of Investigations, garnered the most votes, winning the support of 185 divisions to fill one of three Umno vice-president positions.

Shafie Apdal came in second with 174 division votes, while Hishammuddin took third place with 100 division votes.

He was almost defeated by Mukhriz Mahathir, who had won more individual votes than Hishamuddin, but which only translated into 91 division votes.

"Malaysians prefer Hishammuddin because his family's genealogy. He came into the spotlight last year after the loss of MH370 and was seen to have handled the situation well.

“He became the face of Malaysia and and received good appraisals,” Merdeka Centre director Ibrahim Suffian was quoted as saying.

He revealed that some respondents named other candidates such as Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng and Anwar Ibrahim, but those names were not listed because the survey was meant to look out for next generation leaders.

The survey also indicated that among Pakatan supporters, 12 percent wanted Hishammuddin ( right ) to become the next PM, followed by PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli (4.7 percent), Selangor Menteri Besar Azmin Ali (9.8 percent), Khairy (6.4 percent), PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah (4.7 percent) and Zahid (2.6 percent).

Ibrahim said this does not mean that opposition supporters want a BN leader instead of a Pakatan leadership.

“Malaysians, including Pakatan supporters just cannot imagine the (Pakatan) coalition winning the next general election. They are used to the idea of having a BN leader running the country,” he was quoted saying.

Although he pointed out that their perception may change closer to GE14.

As for who is the best person to replace Anwar as opposition leader, the majority of respondents picked Azmin (13.9 percent).

This was followed by Rafizi (7.1 percent), PAS vice-president Husam Musa (6.7 percent), Nurul Izzah (6.5 percent) and PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu (1.8 percent).