Gallopedia Highlights- Week # 130

Dated 25^th-31^st July, 2010

This week’s report consists of 23 surveys. 2 of these are multi-country surveys & 1 is a Global cyber survey. 8 polling organizations have been represented.

ASIA zone-3 national polls & 1 Global Poll:
Northeast Asia: China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan,

South East Asia: Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, Cambodia, Singapore,

Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan,

South Asia: Pakistan, Sri lanka, Nepal, India, Bangladesh,

West Asia: Afghanistan, Turkey,

Middle East & N Africa: Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Yemen, Saudi Arabia,

AFRICA zone- 1 Multi National poll & 1 Global poll:

West Africa: Nigeria, Niger, Ghana, Mauritania, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Mali, Cameroon,

Central Africa: Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Burundi, Sudan, Chad, DR Congo,

East & the Horn of Africa: Djibouti, Somaliland, Tanzania,

South Africa: South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Comoros,

EURO-AMERICAS zone-16 national polls & 1 Multi national poll & 1 Global poll:

East Europe- Russia, Czech Republic, Ukraine, Slovenia, Estonia, Poland, Macedonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Bulgaria, Greece, Belarus, Albania, Georgia, Cyprus, Croatia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Romania, Moldova,

West Europe- France, UK, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Ireland, Austria, Sweden,

North America- U.S.A, Canada
Latin America- Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Honduras, Ecuador, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Chile, Uruguay, Argentina, Venezuela,

CYBER WORLD: 2 polls

Commentary: Democracy is Top Wish for Malaysians

July 25, 2010

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Making the country more democratic tops the wish list of many people in Malaysia, according to a poll by the Merdeka Center for Opinion Research. 27 % of respondents cite this as the most important issue to address in the country.

Making the education system "world class" is second with 20 %, followed by reducing income inequality with 11 %, and improving the income of ordinary Malaysians with 9%. Other mentions include fighting crime, making the public servants more efficient, making the courts more independent, and fighting corruption.

The United Malays National Organization (UMNO)—the biggest party in a coalition of 12 political factions known as the National Front (BN)—has formed the government after every election since the Asian country attained its independence from Britain in 1957.

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi took over as prime minister in October 2003, after the retirement of Mahathir Mohamad, who served for more than 22 years. In the March 2004 election, the National Front secured 198 of the 219 seats in the House of Representatives. Abdullah was sworn in as head of government with the biggest majority in three decades.

In the March 2008 ballot, the National Front won 140 seats in the legislature. The coalition’s share of the vote dropped drastically, from 64.4 % in 2004, to 50.27 % in 2008. According to Human Rights Watch, the most recent election was "grossly unfair" and marred by irregularities.

In September 2008, Abdullah announced his intention to step down. Najib Razak—who served as deputy prime minister and finance minister—took over as head of government in April 2009.

Earlier this month, a group of regional constitutional court justices met in Jakarta and signed a declaration to establish an Association of Asian Constitutional Courts. The association will seek to promote the "progress of democracy and the promotion of human rights in Asia on the basis of mutual respect and judicial independence."

Zaki Azmi, chief justice of Malaysia’s Federal Court and the head of the Malaysian delegation, urged other countries to protect the electoral process, saying, "Democracy, that is governing by the people and for the people, can only be achieved through a transparent election."

Polling Data

I am going to read you a list of issues that people feel needs to change, please tell me the top 2 which are the most important for you. Please also let me know if there are other issues in your mind than the ones I am reading to you.

Making the country more democratic	27%
Making our education system world class	20%
Reducing the income gap between the rich and the poor	11%
Improving the income of ordinary Malaysians	9%
Fighting crime	8%
Making our public servants more efficient	8%
Making the courts more independent	7%
Fighting corruption	6%
Don’t know	2%
Others	1%
No response	1%

Source: Merdeka Center for Opinion Research
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 3,141 Malaysian adults, conducted from Jan. 21 to Apr. 26, 2010. Margin of error is 1.8 %.

SOURCE: http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/view/35807/democracy_is_top_wish_for_malaysians

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The complete detailed weekly reports of the project can be found on theGilani's Gallopedia website.