JANUARY 30 — We welcome the recent discussion of our work at the International Conference on Deradicalisation and Countering Violent Extremism. (“Zahid: Can’t swallow whole Pew Research poll on Malaysian IS support”) but it is important to clarify the methodology of our survey in Malaysia and the findings on views of ISIS.   

The poll followed standard best practices of survey research. It is based on 1,000 face-to-face interviews with a representative sample of the population conducted throughout the country (remote areas in Sabah and Sarawak, representing approximately 8 per cent of the population, were excluded from the sample). We asked respondents whether they had a favourable or unfavourable view of ISIS. Eleven per cent had a very or somewhat favourable view of ISIS while a large majority (64 per cent) had a very or somewhat unfavourable view. A quarter of those surveyed had no opinion of the group.  

Measuring public opinion on such a sensitive topic is certainly a difficult challenge. However, we believe surveys such as this can help us understand public attitudes towards an extremely important topic.

* Richard Wike is director of global attitudes research, Pew Research Centre, Washington, DC.

** This is the personal opinion of the writer and the organisation in whose name it is written and does not represent the views of Malay Mail Online.