KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 22 — More than half of Malaysians polled by a recent international survey considered Malaysia’s medical treatments and military to be the best in the world or better than average.

In the International Science Survey 2019-2020 where 20 nations were surveyed, Malaysians were given four options of "best in the world”, "above average”, "average”, "below average” when comparing various aspects of Malaysia against other countries, including in terms of education, economy and political system.

In the survey results released by United States-based pollster Pew Research Center last month, the 1,650 Malaysian respondents who were surveyed seemed to view the country’s medical treatments and military more positively than for other categories.

For medical treatment, 21 per cent of the 1,650 Malaysian respondents think Malaysia is best in the world, followed by 33 per cent who said Malaysia is above average, with this coming to a collective 54 per cent.

Another 37 per cent said Malaysia is average, while 10 per cent said the country is below average in terms of medical treatment.

As for Malaysia’s military, 22 per cent of Malaysians polled said it is best in the world, 29 per cent said it is above average, which translates to a combined 51 per cent.

Another 35 per cent said Malaysia is average in terms of its military, while 13 per cent said Malaysia is below average, and two per cent declined or gave other answers.

The survey in Malaysia was conducted through phone calls in Malay, Chinese or English languages among adults aged 18 and above from October 12 to November 22, 2019.

For all the other categories, less than half of the 1,650 Malaysians in the same survey think that Malaysia is best in the world or above average when compared to other countries.

Here’s what Malaysians thought of Malaysia when compared against other countries, with those who declined to answer or giving any answer beyond the four options excluded:

1. Science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education in universities: