Are We Proud To Be Malaysian? Here’s What This Survey Found Out
A recent survey conducted by KajiDATA Research revealed some interesting details on how Malaysians feel about the country and its overall state.
By Nandini Balakrishnan — 29 Aug 2016, 01:01 PM
What do Malaysians think about being Malaysians?
With the recent political turmoils, lack of employments opportunities and general unrest in the country, it has been difficult to gauge how Malaysians truly feel about being a Malaysian.
Bringing clarity to the matter and with the 59th independence day around the corner, KAJIDATA recently conducted a telephone survey on how proud are Malaysians of their country, what are some of their major concerns, and their knowledge on the country's independence facts and dates.
The survey was conducted with 1,000 Malaysians respondents from different ethnic, religious, age, education and income level.
"I'm proud to be a Malaysian."
This sentiment turned out to be what a significant number of respondents said when asked about their thoughts on patriotism.
Malaysian volunteers carrying the national flags during the 57th Merdeka Day celebrations in Kuala Lumpur
Image via EPAKajiDATA Research's business consultant A. Yazid Othman said that the survey is based on a set of meticulously prepared set of questions and the whole thing was supervised by KajiDATA's advisor Professor Datuk Sri Dr Syed Arabi Idid, as reported by the New Straits Times on Saturday, 27 August.
Surprisingly, only 77.2% of the respondents knew who Malaysia's first prime minister (Tunku Abdul Rahman) was and 84.3% could answer when the nation achieved its independence.
While most Malaysians pledged their love for the nation, respondents from Kuala Lumpur and Kedah admitted to having concerns about the country's ability to face challenges in the future
To curb the increasing crime rates in the country, PDRM recently launched Ops Cantas Khas 2 on 6 August.
Image via The RocketThe survey also revealed how a majority of the respondents expressed worries over the the national security and crime rates, especially those coming from Pahang and Sabah.
Meanwhile, the concerns about the state of economy may affect Malaysians' spending habit for the next six months. 71% of Malaysians saying that will avoid travelling abroad, 81% mentioned that will not purchase new houses, 83% will not buy new cars and 76% will even avoid starting or extending their family for the next six months.
With concerns raging high over the economical climate and employment availability in the country, 86% of the respondents stressed that they will not be changing professions either in the foreseeable future
However, the good thing is that many of the respondents (66.8%) were confident in facing the future challenges.
Based on the survey, Syed Arabi concluded that though Malaysians were proud of their country, they have been realists as well. They know of the headwinds the country is facing and are prepared to face the challenges.
Established in 2015, KajiDATA Research specialises in commercial and social intelligence. Its mission is to effectively acquire and unearth actionable insights.