AMPANG, Feb 1 — The federal government must take note of widespread disapproval among the Malays about Pakatan Harapan’s performance to date, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said today.

Responding to a recent Ilham Centre survey where approval ratings among Malay respondents were only slightly above 40 per cent, Dr Wan Azizah said the current administration needs to find a balance between populist measures and national policy-making after taking over from Barisan Nasional. 

"I read the survey. We must listen to the woes and opinions of the rakyat and take steps to see if their (disapproval) was real or imagined.

“The majority of Malaysians are Malays so when they say the majority of them (are unhappy), we have to take note and see what we can do to address it,” she told reporters after distributing mandarin oranges for the coming Chinese New Year festival to the public at the Taman Muda market here.

“Coming in as a new government following a change in 60 years, there are adjustments that need to be done and only now we are able to find out.

“We take note of that and find ourselves wanting to do what is popular yet having to consider what the country needs, what needs to be done for the economy and take care of stability (of the country),” she said.

The survey found that 59.5 per cent of 2,614 Malay respondents disapproved of the new government’s performance in the five months after the 14th general election.

Among reasons for this negative view was the perception that PH was not adequately pushing the “Malay agenda”, defending the community’s rights, or upholding Islam’s position in the federation.

Nearly two in three were also convinced that DAP was the real force behind the coalition, despite Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia providing the prime minister.

Aside from the perceived failure to defend the Malays and Islam, six in 10 respondents also felt the coalition was not doing enough to manage rising costs, which had been a key platform prior to the general election.

Despite their negative views, however, most respondents felt the coalition would secure a second term.