An overwhelming number of Malaysians who took part in a survey have rejected leaders tainted with money politics and sex scandals.

The finding comes ahead of two crucial events, the Bagan Pinang by-election and MCA extraordinary general meeting which involve a politician found guilty of vote buying and another entangled in a sexual escapade respectively.

According to the survey carried out by independent pollster Merdeka Centre, 86 percent were disagreeable towards those involved in money politics while 75 percent gave the thumbs down for politicians who go astray under the sheets.

mohd isa samad Come Sunday, former Umno vice-president Isa Samad will be contesting in the by-election to revive his political career which came to an abrupt halt after he was suspended for money politics during the 2004 party polls.

chua soi lek A day before that, deposed MCA deputy president Dr Chua Soi Lek, whose political career turned southward after a DVD of his sexual romps emerged, will attempt to unseat his rival and party president Ong Tee Keat during the emergency meet.

32 percent of Chinese back Tee Keat

In a statement today, Merdeka Centre's Ibrahim Suffian said the survey which ran from Sept 29 to Oct 4 involved 846 Malaysians, aged 21 and above.

"The survey covered recent political developments including the EGM of MCA, perceptions about Barisan Nasional reforms and Pakatan Rakyat as well as other matters," he added.

Ibrahim said the survey found that 25 percent of those interviewed, specifically 32 percent of Chinese, preferred Ong to remain as MCA president.

azlan Furthermore, he added that 34 percent of Chinese respondents felt that MCA leaders should focus on 'resolving the infighting' while 31 percent felt they should 'win back the confidence of all Malaysians'.

On the issue of reforms being undertaken by BN, 34 percent wanted a complete overhaul of Umno first.

Ibrahim said the respondents felt that "unless Umno reforms extensively, changes in other component parties mean little."

As for the embattled MIC, the survey found that 59 percent were unfavourable of the party following its recent elections, which witnessed president S Samy Vellu's men making an almost clean sweep.

No faith in Pakatan at federal level

To a question regarding the opposition coalition, Ibrahim said 47 percent were not convinced that Pakatan could be a "viable alternative" to BN at the federal level.

"At the same time, the survey found that 46 percent were satisfied with the performance of the four Pakatan-held states of Penang, Kedah, Selangor and Kelantan," he added.

One startling revelation was that a big chunk of the respondents appeared to be in the dark over the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal.

Despite the widespread media coverage, Ibrahim said 44 percent of those polled have not heard about the issue.

"Of the remainder, only 11 percent overall said that they either 'know a lot' or 'somewhat know' about the problem," he added.