The 10-point plunge in the approval rating of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak in the latest Merdeka Center poll is merely a temporary setback, says outgoing MCA deputy president Liow Tiong Lai.

NONE "The prime minister will come up with more measures to move the economy and the country forward," Liow ( left ) said.

He said Najib has in fact done well in improving the economy following the May 5 general election, but the government's subsidy rationalisation process has affected many people.

However, measures are also being taken to ensure that the poor and the middle class are protected.

Liow said this when asked at a press conference today to comment on the Merdeka Center's findings released yesterday that Najib's approval rating is at its lowest in four years .

The survey also revealed 67 percent of they respondents saying economic issues were their number one concern, with many also expressing distrust of the government's statements on the economy.

On another issue, Liow, who is in the running for the party presidency, said he has no objection to calls for making party presidential debates mandatory in future MCA elections.

Transformation programme for MCA

NONE "I am actually chairing the transformation programme in MCA.

"We are looking to transformimg the party...

"The most important is how we can put in added values to our party transformation," he said.

Yesterday, rival presidential candidate Ong Tee Keat said such debates should be an essential part of the party election process.

Ong said he had tried but failed to implement this during his previous 17-month stint as party president, but that Liow and another candidate Gan Ping Siew, being in the leadership of the party, could have changed the rules if they wanted to.

Gan is an incumbent vice-president while Liow is deputy president.

Both have been in office the last three years.

To this, Liow said that unlike Ong, he was never in a position to change the rules because he was not the party president.

He also said he had already stated, when announcing his intention to run for party presidency, that he was in favour of expanding the voter base for MCA elections.

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