A survey by Institut Darul Ehsan (IDE) found that Malays favour Dr Mahathir Mohamad making a comeback as prime minister, compared with PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim and PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang.

According to the survey, 29 percent of Malays want Mahathir as prime minister while Anwar and Hadi tied for the second spot, with both receiving 25 percent respectively.

Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) president Muhyiddin Yassin came in third among Malays at 13 percent, while DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang came in a distant fourth at one percent.

This was based on a survey of 1,761 respondents conducted from Aug 26 to early September.

Among the Chinese community, Lim Kit Siang was the most popular candidate for prime minister, at 42 percent, followed by Anwar (32 percent), Mahathir (14 percent) Muhyiddin (nine percent) and Hadi (three percent).

As for the Indian community, the majority favoured Anwar at 40 percent, followed by Mahathir (33 percent), Muhyiddin (19 percent), Lim Kit Siang (nine percent) and Hadi (two percent).

However, when all races were taken into account, Anwar was still the top candidate...