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KUALA LUMPUR: There is no tangible change in public satisfaction with Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad as a political leader and support for Pakatan Harapan (PH) as the ruling party since August.

This is the outcome of a nationwide survey conducted in December by Prof Datuk Seri Syed Arabi Idid and his assistant Azrul Hisyam Wakichan of the Electoral Studies Unit, International Islamic University of Malaysia.

It is the continuation of the first study conducted in August 2018 on national current issues.

The December survey also found public satisfaction with other leaders - Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, and former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak - going up or down by one per cent or remaining the same compared with the outcome in August 2018.

However, only DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, who is also Finance Minister, recorded a notable increase in public satisfaction from 36 per cent to 45 per cent during the same period.

When respondents were asked which party they would vote for if elections were held today, 55 per cent chose Pakatan Harapan (including Warisan), Barisan Nasional (24 per cent) and PAS (16 per cent).

In the earlier study in August, 56  percent said they preferred voting for PH, as against BN (24 per cent) and PAS (14 per cent). Like in the earlier study, the highest support for PH came from the Chinese community (73 per cent) followed by Indians (56 per cent), and Malays and Bumiputeras at 42 per cent, the same percentage as in August.

Dr Mahathir still commands the respect of the masses, regardless of race, income, education and gender, with 62 per cent of the respondents expressing their satisfaction with him both in August and December.

The December study involved 1,469 respondents while the study in August had 1,500 respondents. The respondents including in Sabah and Sarawak were personally interviewed and were chosen based on population density, racial composition, different educational backgrounds, age and gender. - Bernama