KUALA LUMPUR: A survey has found that Malaysians are getting politically apathetic due to rampant party-hopping incidents in the country lately.
The survey, conducted by the Centre for Governance and Political Studies (Cent-GPS), found that party-hoppers have disenchanted Malaysian women and individuals from higher income groups, in particular, from politics.
Some 53 per cent of the 1,100 respondents polled contend that the current political crisis is a result of party-hopping.
"Most Malaysians (46 per cent) claim to have lost interest in politics because of party-hopping. Malay men are less likely to lose interest in politics due to party-hopping as compared to Malay women.
"Fifty per cent of Malay women have become less interested in politics, while 43 per cent of Malay men stated the same feeling.
"What is interesting to observe here is that while a minority of the respondents (14 per cent) claim to have been directly impacted by MPs' party-hopping, a majority (53 per cent) claim the current political crisis is a result of party-hopping," Cent-GPS said in a statement today.
However, both Malay men and women were on the same page when it comes to deciding the fate of party-hoppers.
"Around 44 per cent of Malay males and 45 per cent of Malay females believe the MPs should be disallowed to contest future elections.
"Around 34 per cent of Malay males and 35 per cent of Malay females believe the MPs should immediately lose their seats," it said.
Socio-economic status also strongly influences the political views of Malaysians, with respondents from higher income brackets claiming to feel impacted by lawmakers jumping ship compared to those with lower incomes.
"(Only) 10 per cent of respondents whose incomes are below RM2,000 said they were greatly impacted. By contrast, 20 per cent of respondents whose incomes are above RM2,001 said they were greatly impacted.
"Around 52 per cent of respondents whose incomes are below RM2,000 were 'somewhat impacted' whilst 42 per cent of respondents whose incomes are above RM2,001 stated the same feeling.
Likewise, a Malaysian respondent is more likely to understand what an anti-hopping law means if their incomes are higher.
"Thirty-three per cent of respondents whose incomes are below RM2,000 understood what an anti-hopping law meant. Around 49 per cent of respondents from the same income group were 'not sure' what an anti-hopping law meant.
"By comparison, 42 per cent of respondents whose incomes are above RM2,001 understood what an anti-hopping law meant," it said.
Nevertheless, most Malaysians believe the current political crisis can be averted by implementing an anti-hopping law, with only 12 per cent voting against the proposal.
Cent-GPS stressed that party hopping reduces a government's ability to truly focus on the long-term wellbeing of the people.
"With party-hopping, short term popularity, and thus short term policy gets prioritised. Unpopular policies that benefit the country in the long term get pushed aside," it said.