Malaysia: Election Watch #2 – Getting some sense of approval ratings and election timing

Research evidence excerpt

Malaysia: Election Watch #2 – Getting some sense of approval ratings and election timing

Global Markets Research

26 June 2026Asia Insights

Economics - ASEAN/Asia ex-Japan

Research AnalystsMalaysia: Election Watch #2 – Getting some sense

Asia Economicsof approval ratings and election timing

Euben Paracuelles - NSL

• A survey by Merdeka Center shows that PM Anwar leads in approval ratings at 52%, euben.paracuelles@nomura.com

but is closely followed by UMNO’s Khairy Jamaluddin at 50%. +65 6433 6956

Yiru Chen - NSL • Based on our discussions in KL this week, a large majority of local clients believe a yiru.chen1@nomura.com

general election will not be held until next year, in line with our assumption. +65 6433 6405

The latest survey shows PM Anwar’s approval rating at 52%

On 25 June, Merdeka Center for Opinion Research published the results from a national

public opinion survey conducted between 12 March and 9 April. The survey shows that the

overall approval rating for Prime Minister (PM) Anwar was the highest among seven

political leaders at 52%, though it has moderated since he took office in late-2022 (Figure

1). PM Anwar garnered a 59% satisfaction rating from non-Malay respondents versus 45%

among Malay respondents.

Khairy Jamaluddin, who is the ex-chief of UMNO Youth and recently returned after a

three-year political exile, came in a close second with an approval rating of 50% (Figure

2), and has the strongest support among Malay respondents. In contrast, UMNO president

and Deputy PM Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was ranked last at 24%.

Among the opposition figures, Muhyiddin Yassin, who is Bersatu president and former PM,

took the lead, with an approval rating of 36%. Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman Ahmad