More Malays identifying as Muslims first, says Merdeka Centre

Most Malays identify themselves as 'Muslims first' rather than Malaysian or Malay first, says independent pollster Merdeka Centre executive director Ibrahim Suffian. – August 10, 2015.Most Malays identify themselves as "Muslims first" rather than Malaysian or Malay first, independent pollster Merdeka Center said today, amid rising religious conservatism in the country.

Executive director Ibrahim Suffian said its recent survey found 60% of Malays saw themselves as being Muslim first, as opposed to 27% who identified as Malaysians and just 6% as Malays.

In contrast, only 3% of the Chinese and 16% of the Indians said they identified themselves by their religion, according to the survey, which he said would be published on September 5.

"Most Malaysians see themselves as Malaysians first with the exception of the dominant group Malays," Ibrahim told a roundtable discussion on the politics of race in Malaysia, organised by the Global Movement of Moderates today.

"Malays are increasingly identify themselves as Muslim first."

He added that less Malays were identifying themselves by their ethnicity compared to ten years ago, despite Barisan Nasional's (BN) reliance on race to woo voters.

Race labels

In 2005, 11% of Malays polled by Merdeka Center said they saw themselves as 'Malay first'. This has now dropped to 6%, said Ibrahim.

Meanwhile, most Chinese (58%) and Indians (63%) saw themselves as Malaysians first, while 24% Chinese and 11% Indians identified themselves by their ethnicity, according to the latest survey, Ibrahim said.

"Future campaigning based on race will have a tough time to convince the electorate," he said.

He added that the 2013 general election results already suggested Malaysians did not respond to race-baiting.

"If you look overall, BN still lost 4% of popular votes so I think there's a limit to how much racial rhetoric can be used.

"Maybe as many as 40% Malays don't respond to Malay markers. They are more concerned with issues of good governance, and what the government can do for them."

He said that Malay voter support for Umno improved only by 2% during the last election, and that support figures were markedly lower among young Malay voters.

Meanwhile, PAS gained 1.2% more popular votes because of support from the non-Malays, he said.

"Malay support for PAS declined marginally by 1.3%, mostly from Perlis and Kedah.

"This means that its partnership with DAP did not substantially subtract support in locations such as Perak, Selangor or Johor," he said. – August 10, 2015.