Caretaker Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim enjoys a higher approval rating than PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim and caretaker Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, a study shows.

azlan Conducted by Universiti Selangor (Unisel), the study reveals that Khalid's leadership qualities are admired by 63.1 percent of the 1,015 respondents across Selangor.

This is higher than the 58.4 percent that Anwar received, and 51.2 percent for Najib.

Khalid is also considered weak by the least amount of respondents- only 15.9 percent of the respondents thought he was a weak leader, lower than Najib's 24.2 percent and Anwar's 18.5 percent.

The findings also show that the Selangor government's ‘free water’ programme - for 20 cubic metres of usage a month - is extremely popular, with 91 percent of the respondents supporting it.

Though the federal government's Bantuan Rakyat 1 Malaysia (BR1M) cash aid is also extremely popular among respondents, the state government's overall programmes enjoy a marginally better approval rating than the federal government's programmes in Selangor.

Noh, Mohd Zin considered 'weak'

The strength of the state government among the respondents is also visible when those polled asked about the water industry takeover bid by the state.

62.6 percent of respondents across all races believed that the state was fair in trying to buy over the water concessionaires in the state, especially Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas).

NONE Similarly, 64.4 percent of respondents were not approving of the federal government's Automated Enforcement System (AES) an automatic speed trap cameras aimed to reduce road mishaps.

Unisel's Dr Muhammad Shamsinor Abdul Azzis, who presented his team's findings, said that BN's decision not to field its Selangor deputy chairperson Noh Omar and coordinator Mohd Zin Mohamed in state seats was also a good move, judging by the study.

The study was conducted over two months in February and March this year, at a time when Noh and Mohd Zin were touted as potential menteri besar candidates should BN regain Selangor.

But according to the survey, the duo are largely viewed as weak leaders by Selangorians.

NONE Noh Omar ( left ) garnered only a 30.4 percent approval rating for his leadership qualities among the same respondents, while Mohd Zin had only a 29.6 percent approval rating.

41.1 percent of respondents considered Noh Omar a weak leader, while 39.5 percent considered Mohd Zin so.

Meanwhile, Pakatan's chances of retaining Selangor looks bright among the respondents, with 61.4 percent believing that the federal opposition will defend its hold over the state, opposed to 38.6 percent respondents opining a BN-win there.

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