Malaysians do not know whether to laugh or to cry!

Malaysians do not know whether to laugh or to cry!

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak claimed that his government is No. 1 in the world in transparency and government delivery when presenting the Government Transformation programme (GTP) yesterday, but on the same day, TIME magazine included Najib in its list of five world leaders who it claims are less popular than United States President Donald Trump.

The TIME magazine “risk report” said that despite an approval rating of under 40 per cent, Trump was “sitting pretty” compared to the five – the other four being Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Brazilian President Michel Temer, South African President Jacob Zuma and Prime Minister of Greece Alexis Tsipras.

Najib was cited among the ignominous five because of the international multi-billion dollar 1MDB money laundering scandal, which Najib had denied, but which has earned Malaysia the appellation of a “global kleptocracy” – especially after the US Department of Justice (DOJ) largest kleptocratic lawsuits to forfeit over a US$1 billion 1MDB-linked assets in the United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland.

The TIME citation of Najib asked: “Who needs popularity when you have political power and money in the bank?”

The TIME “risk report” tallied with the recent studies finding that Najib is the most unpopular Prime Minister in the nation’s history.

In October 2015, it was reported that Malay approval for Najib’s government hit an all-time low.

Singapore's The Straits Times ( ST ), citing a survey by independent pollster Merdeka Centre, said only 31 percent of Malay voters is satisfied with the government.

This was the first time approval for the government among Malays had fallen below 50 percent since Merdeka Centre began recording the data in February 2012.

The fall among Malay voters was drastic as it had stood at 52 percent in January 2015.

The government's overall approval rating also plummeted to 23 percent, the worst since the polls started in 2012, with five per cent approval among the Chinese voters compared to January 2015,

The survey found the government's falling approval rating was largely attributed to its handling of the economy.

The survey found only 17 percent of respondents were satisfied with how the government was handling the economy, compared to 78 percent who were dissatisfied.

The survey was conducted among respondents in Peninsular Malaysia in August, shortly after Najib dismissed Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin for his critical stance on 1MDB.

As a comparison, the government's approval rating was at 43 percent in May 2013 when the 13th general election was held.

That figure was derived from 61 percent of Malays, 41 percent of Indians and nine percent of Chinese who approved of the government.

In February this year, a Selangor government think-tank, Institut Darul Ehsan (IDE), found from its poll that Najib Abdul Razak was the most unpopular prime minister in the nation's history – with only 19 per cent of the voters in Selangor believed that Najib’s leadership would increase support for Barisan Nasional.

Such findings tally with other surveys, like the Edelman Trust Barometer 2017 for Malaysia which found that the trust level of Malaysians in key institutions, including the government, has declined – with 52 percent of Malaysians believe the system was failing them, with only 12 percent saying the system was working for them, citing a sense of injustice, lack of hope and confidence, and desire for change.

So, who will Malaysians believe – Najib or the national and international surveys and perceptions?