Most voters believed that BN had abused its power to stay in government, according to a survey by Universiti Malaya Centre for Democracy and Elections (Umcedel).

It found that 46 percent of voters hold this belief, while another 33 percent disagreed with the contention. A further 21 percent of respondents were unsure.

Umcedel director director Mohd Redzuan Othman told reporters today that there is also a racial divide on this, with 54 percent of Chinese Malaysians agreeing that BN had abused its power as opposed to 42 percent of Malays.

“It is very clear that the Chinese said ‘yes’. Their anti-BN sentiment is high and the trend is like that on other questions as well,” he said.

The findings are based on face-to-face interviews with 1,546 voters throughout peninsula Malaysia between Aug 15 and Sept 10 this year.

The same survey also found that voters are split on whether the Election Commission (EC) had conducted the 13th general election properly, with 47 percent of respondents believing that it performed well, 41 percent disagreeing, and the remainder unsure.

Again, opinions are sharply divided between the Chinese and Malays, with only 30 percent of Chinese respondents believing that EC had performed, as opposed to 52 percent of Malays.

However, just over half of respondents also believe that the issues such as the unreliable indelible ink and allegations of phantom voters had tainted the elections - an opinion that is consistent across races.

Study: 69pct voters want BN, Pakatan reconciliation

Pakatan: Apa lagi Umno mahu?