Most Sarawakians believe that they have been treated unfairly by Putrajaya but many see the state being better off since joining Malaysia, according to a recent survey by pollster Merdeka Centre.

Over half of Sarawakians polled, as much as 54 percent, believe that they have been treated unfairly by Putrajaya, most notably among the Chinese polled, with 74 percent of them responding thus.

The sentiment is mostly uniform across the board, though there is a noticeable spike in the feeling that Sarawak has been unfairly treated by Putrajaya in those with higher income and higher education level, as well as among the younger generation.

Though the sentiment is reversed when it comes to the question of whether Sarawak has been worse or better off after its admission into the Federation of Malaysia in 1963.

Nearly half of Sarawakians polled (49 percent) believe that the state is better off, while one third of them (34 percent) believe that the state is worse off being in Malaysia.

Favour greater autonomy

Most Sarawakians polled also favour greater autonomy and support the pro-autonomy advocacy group Sarawak for Sarawakians (S4S).

Overall, 85 percent of survey respondents said they favour greater autonomy for Sarawak, with the Chinese being the highest racial group supporting it at 95 percent.

Mostly the Chinese wanted greater autonomy in economy and education while the Muslim bumiputera sought more autonomy in economy as well as religion.

For the non-Muslim bumiputera their focus for autonomy is the same with the Chinese, which is in economy and education.

The poll also showed that 75 percent of Sarawakians polled support the S4S, most notably among the Chinese with 65 percent of them supporting the group, though this is in contrast to the high rejection of the group among the Muslim bumiputera at 64 percent.

Non-Muslim bumiputera community has its sentiments split at 48 percent for and 28 against, while 24 percent do not know or refused to answer.

The internally funded survey was carried out by the Merdeka Centre between Jan 20 and 26 this year to gauge voters’ perceptions of current developments in Sarawak prior to the upcoming state election.

Respondents comprised 815 registered voters, interviewed via fixed line and mobile telephones, 27 percent of whom are Muslim bumiputera, 38 percent non-Muslim bumiputera and 36 percent Chinese, reflective of the electoral profile of the state.

The respondents were selected on the basis of random stratified sampling along age group, ethnicity, gender and state constituency.