IDE surveys show Anwar ahead of other candidates
PORT DICKSON: Pakatan Harapan candidate Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is expected to win the by-election here, based on two surveys conducted.
A think-tank under the Selangor government, Institut Darul Ehsan (IDE), said two surveys done in September and a few days ago pointed to Anwar as leading with support of over 70%.
PAS candidate Lt-Kol (Rtd) Mohd Nazari Mokhtar and former Negri Sembilan mentri besar Tan Sri Isa Samad came in second and third respectively.
The survey also found that voters are concerned about both national and local issues.
The Sales and Service Tax implementation, as well as the high cost of living are the main concerns of the respondents when it comes to national issues.
On the local front, many are worried about cleanliness, potholes, clogged drains, public transportation, lack of streetlights and social and crime issues.
During the 14th General Election, the voter turnout for Port Dickson stood at 83%.
IDE deputy chairman Prof Datuk Dr Mohammad Redzuan Othman said support for Anwar stood at 72% in the first survey conducted from Sept 28-30.
In the second survey conducted on Oct 8 and 9, there was a further 2% increase in support for Anwar.
Mohd Nazari saw a 7% increase to 11%, while Isa saw an increase of another 4% from his initial support of 6%. Independent candidate Mohd Saiful had no support in either survey.
When asked why Mohd Saiful received no votes, Dr Mohammad Redzuan explained that out of the 1,084 respondents, none of them expressed support for Anwar’s former aide.
“We asked all the respondents from the (five state assemblies under the Port Dickson parliamentary constituency) and no one said they would vote for Mohd Saiful.
“Maybe out of the 75,770 registered voters, there could be 100 supporters for Mohd Saiful, but it’s hard to tell,” he said in a press conference yesterday.
However, he stressed that despite the survey, the actual voters’ support could only be gauged accurately on polling day tomorrow as voter turnout is a crucial factor.
When asked about support for PAS, he said it was proof that almost all non-Muslims did not support the Islamist party but noted that PAS had its own supporters club consisting of non-Muslims.