UCSI POLL ON LAWMAKERS’ ASSET DECLARATION

KUALA LUMPUR:

May 30, 2019, Asst.Prof.Dr.Noppadon Kannika, CEO of UCSI Poll Research Centre, releases the centre’s poll results on lawmakers’ asset declaration. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches were conducted between May 20 – 29, 2019. The survey’s sample size was 1,015 people. The target population was general people living in Kuala Lumpur.

The results show that the majority of total respondents or 70.1% didn’t know that there were no laws to compel lawmakers to declare their assets. However, only 29.9% knew about that. When asked the
respondents’ opinion on lawmakers’ asset declaration if it was a threat of privacy or it was a powerful Anti-Corruption tool, the results show that most respondents or 61.1% stated that it was a powerful Anti-Corruption tool. However, 38.9% said that it was a threat of privacy.

When asked respondents if they agreed or disagreed with the idea that all lawmakers must declare their assets, the results show that 55.7% agreed and strongly agreed with the idea. However, 30.1% stated that they neither agreed nor disagreed, and 14.0% disagreed with the idea. Interestingly, in this poll, all respondents were asked if they agreed or disagreed with Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) that introduced new laws pertaining to asset declaration, the results show that 54.5% agreed and strongly agreed with MACC proposal. However, 32.9% neither agreed nor disagreed with MACC’s proposal, and 12.3% disagreed with that.

The CEO of UCSI Poll says that, in this survey, most people don’t know that lawmakers don’t have to declare their assets. This unknown might cause them to distrust in politics and the power’s management. What MACC and the government should do is to inform effectively that MACC is introducing the laws that the public supports because most people think that MACC proposal will be a powerful tool of anti-corruption.

“This is a good sign for the era of open power that all lawmakers should accept the proposal. As a result, people will “trust” in politics and the power’s management for the nation. Moreover, Malaysia would be ranked among the greatest countries of transparency because of strong democratic foundation and more transparent power. The possible outcomes for the country would be Malaysians’ well-being, fairness, good governance, and reduced corrupted conducts among the power effectively and sustainably.” Asst.Prof.Dr.Noppadon said

In this poll, demographic data were asked. 51.3% were males and 48.7% were females. The majority of respondents or 52.8% aged between 26 – 54 years old, 36.7% aged 55 years old or more, and 10.5% aged 25 or below. When asked about their highest education levels, 47.5% had less than bachelor’s degrees, 34.6% earned bachelor’s degrees, and 17.9% received higher than bachelor’s degrees. This poll also found that 44.9% worked in private sectors, 22.6% were students, 12.5% worked in public/government sectors, 8.5% were business owners, 7.1% worked in other sectors such as agriculture and freelance, 4.4% retired and unemployed. People who were living across Kuala Lumpur including inner city and outer areas were polled.

Research Methodology and Design in this poll:

- Survey Methodology was applied.
- Mixed mode of data collection including face-to-face interview and self-administered data collection was conducted.
- Two-stage sampling was used to select representative sampled respondents.
- Design Effect (DEFF) is 1.45 due to a designed sampling method rather than one-stage sampling.
- 1,015 respondents were analysed.
- 95% Confidence Interval and margin of error at +/- 3.59% determined by the sample size in this poll.

About UCSI Poll Research Centre The UCSI Poll Research Centre (UCSI-PRC) is a public opinion research company owned by the UCSI Group. Its main objective is to utilise original and scientific research methodologies to investigate and analyse public opinions and attitudes.