Although Selangor Menteri Besar Azmin Ali performed considerably well in a survey conducted by independent pollster Merdeka Center, only 54 percent of Chinese respondents were satisfied with his performance as menteri besar, compared with the higher ratings from the Malay and Indian voters.

This is a direct contrast with his predecessor, Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, who fared better in another survey conducted by the pollster during Khalid’s second year as menteri besar in 2009.

A total of 69 percent of the Chinese respondents had then been satisfied with Khalid.

However, Kampung Tunku state assemblyperson Lau Weng San believes that at 54 percent, the support from the Chinese for Azmin “is not too bad”.

“(The support of the) Chinese was about 10 percent lower (compared with the support of the Malays and Indians), so it is not something that is alarming.

“But he (Azmin) has to do more in order to improve his approval ratings,” Lau admitted.

Azmin, he said, should therefore use the results of the survey as a morale booster for him to “work harder”.

As for the comparison between Azmin and Khalid, Lau said the higher approval rating for Khalid could be due to him being seen as a ‘breath of fresh air’ by the Chinese community, as he was then a political greenhorn.

And the scenarios in which the two were appointed to the post were different, Lau added.

“Khalid rolled out many programmes in accordance with Pakatan Rakyat’s policies, which won him a lot of support from all the communities in Selangor.

“But when Azmin was appointed as MB, there were a lot of uncertainties and internal problems in Pakatan Rakyat, even within PKR and PAS, which have not been resolved until now,” he said.

‘All not lost for Azmin’

However, he believes all is not lost for Azmin. Citing Selangor Umno chief Noh Omar’s appointment as Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister, Lau said Noh would probably use his position as a federal minister to strengthen BN in Selangor.

“If Azmin is to improve his ratings, I think it would be helpful if he can perform better than Noh in terms of improving the living standards in urban areas,” Lau said.

Meanwhile, fellow Selangor assemblyperson Ng Suee Lim said several factors led to the lesser support for Azmin from the Chinese community, compared with that for former MB Khalid.

Among them was that information related to the state government had not reached the target audience.

“There’s Selangorkini (the state government mouthpiece), but its distribution has not been far-reaching. The state government’s policies have not been spread extensively to the Chinese community,” Ng said.

He added that the Chinese community’s confidence in the menteri besar to handle issues related to Pakatan's component parties may have affected Azmin’s approval ratings.

“The Chinese think that (Azmin’s) stand is not so clear, as seen in his stand on Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) and PAS, I think there’s some confusion on this.

“Maybe the MB’s view is more holistic and takes into account everybody’s interests. Maybe the rakyat were not given more explanation why such a stand was taken and this raised doubts,” Ng said.

'Chinese concerned about principles'

Asked why there were different views on the matter among the state’s different communities, Ng said the Chinese were more concerned when it comes to principles.

“They are more concerned on things like which party previously had unclear stances on issues. The Malay community does not really stress on this,” he said.

The state government, therefore, must ensure that information reaches all the rakyat of Selangor, he said.

“The circulation of Selangorkini is quite limited and it’s only focused on certain areas. The newspaper should be placed in public areas, such as LRT stations.”

Asked whether Azmin’s approval ratings would affect Pakatan Harapan’s chances to retain Selangor, Ng said it was still too early to tell.

“We still have time. If we can make changes, I am confident that the people of Selangor are still confident with the Pakatan state government.

“Unity among the races in Selangor, as well as the fact that they are more educated - these things enable the people to judge which government will be able to defend them,” he added.

Aside from the underwhelming support from Chinese respondents, Azmin recorded an overall approval rating of 65 percent in the state.

The poll was conducted among 1,011 voters above the age of 20 in Selangor, via telephone, from May 28 to June 5.