KUALA LUMPUR, April 1 — Fifty per cent of Malaysians felt Putrajaya’s handled poorly the crisis of missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, according to a public opinion survey run by an independent pollster.
But despite overwhelming criticism from abroad, the results of the survey by Merdeka Center showed that 43 per cent of respondents believed the federal government managed the “unprecedented” crisis of the missing plane well.
The survey conducted between March 7 and 20 continues to reflect the dichotomy in Malaysian society over how the government has led the global efforts to locate the plane and the 239 people on board.
Broken down by ethnicity, the Chinese and Indians responded negatively towards Putrajaya’s efforts, with three quarters of Chinese respondents and 59 per cent of Indian respondents “dissatisfied” with the crisis management.
The Malay community voted in favour of the government, however, with 63 per cent saying they were satisfied with the way the country has co-ordinated the ongoing search operation, compared to 30 per cent dissenting.
Criticism over the government’s management of the crisis was also high among youths, with 56 per cent of those in the 21-30 years age group and 58 per cent of those aged between 31 and 40 saying they were unhappy with how it is being done.
The ratings were also split along income levels, with those earning RM3,000 and below largely in favour of the government, hovering between 52 and 58 per cent.
The results were significantly different for those earning RM3,000 to RM5,000, with 60 per cent saying they were dissatisfied.
The ratings among those earning RM5,000 and higher were also more critical, with 68 per cent of the view that the government did not handle the crisis well.
Malaysia has borne the brunt of international criticism over its handling of the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines-owned Boeing 777-200, with family members of the Chinese passengers aboard the plane going so far as accusing the government of being “murderers” for allegedly withholding information related to the search.
The situation was not helped by confusion during the early days of the search when top Malaysian officials issued contradictory statements.
There have also been about-turns regarding the crucial sequence of events in the plane’s cockpit before it veered off course, and Malaysia’s armed forces have been criticised for failing to intercept the diverted plane when it appeared on military radar.
