KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 23): Almost half of Malaysian citizens have no issues telling those in their circles who they voted for in this election (46%), according to British international internet-based market research and data analytics firm YouGov.

In a statement on Wednesday (Nov 23), the pollster said there are fewer than a quarter who do have such issues (24%).

The firm said across age breaks, older voters aged 50 and above were the most likely to say they have no qualms sharing how they voted with friends and family (55%), while just one in six have reservations (16%).

It said results among the younger demographics were comparable, with just over two in five taking issue with speaking about their votes with those in their circle (41% for the 18-34 age group; 44% for 35-49).

Meanwhile, urban electorates were more likely to express an openness to discussing their vote with friends and family (51%) compared to rural electorates (42%).

YouGov said citizens were also polled on the extent they would avoid people with differing political ideologies to them.

It said just one in five citizens would (23%), although this is higher among those aged 18-34 (25%) and highest among those in rural electorates (27%).

YouGov said it interviewed 2,687 Malaysian citizens across the nation between Nov 8 and 14, 2022.

The effective margin of error on this survey is ±2.4.

The pollster targets specific demographics to ensure that the final sample is representative of the population by age, gender, ethnicity, education levels and electorate. This approach is used for YouGov polling globally.

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