Asian Barometer Survey Wave

Transcription

1 Asian Barometer Survey Wave TECHNICAL REPORT (MALAYSIA) By Merdeka Center for Opinion Research for Asian Barometer Survey Center for East Asia Democratic Studies National Taiwan University October 2014

2 Contact Information Merdeka Center for Opinion Research 901B, Kompleks Diamond, Bandar Baru Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia. Tel: Fax: Asian Barometer Survey No.1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Road, Taipei 10617, Taiwan Center for East Asia Democratic Studies, College of Social Sciences National Taiwan University Tel: Fax:

3 1. BASIC INFORMATION 1.1 LOCATION The Asian Barometer 2014 survey for Malaysia covered the entire country and the study areas were divided into two (2) principal regions- Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak) 1.2 POPULATION In 2014, the current population 1 of Malaysia in total is 30,267,367, a slight increase from 2013 s estimate of 29,791,949. Of this number, 50.7% (or 15,345,555) is the male population, and the remaining 49.3% (which is 14,921,811) is female population. According to Department of Statistics Malaysia 2010, the population of Malaysia was 28,334,135. Of this number, 91.8% were Malaysian citizens and the remaining were non-citizens (8.2%). Malaysia consists of people of different cultures and religions. Among the Malaysian citizens, the Malays were the predominant ethnic group in Peninsular Malaysia comprises of 50.4 percent of the population, and the rest is Bumiputera, Muslim, etc., including majorities and minorities. Moving to the population distribution, Selangor (5.46 mil) was the most populous state compared with others larger states in Malaysia, followed by Johor (3.35 mil) and Sabah (3.21 mil). 1.3 GOVERNMENT The Government of Malaysia refers to the Federal Government or national government based in the federal territories of Putrajaya. Malaysia is a federation of 13 states and federal territories which operating within a constitutional monarchy under the Westminster parliamentary system. The federal government adopts the principle of separation of powers and has three branches: executive, legislature and judiciary. The state governments in Malaysia also have their respective executive and legislative bodies. The judicial system in Malaysia is a federalised court system operating uniformly throughout the country. Elections in Malaysia exist at two levels: federal level and state level. Federal level elections are those for membership in the Dewan Rakyat, the lower house of Parliament, while state level elections are for membership in the various State 1

4 Legislative Assemblies. The third level local election was suspended in 1964 during confrontation with Indonesia till now. The heads of executive branch at both the federal and state levels, the Prime Minister and Menteri Besar/Chief Ministers respectively, are indirectly elected, usually filled by a member of the majority party/coalition in the respective legislatures. While any state may dissolve its assembly independently of the Federal Parliament, the traditional practice is for most state assemblies to be dissolved at the same time as Parliament, with the exception of Sabah and Sarawak, although these two states had held elections simultaneously with the rest of the country, as it is the case for Sabah in the 2004, 2008 and 2013 elections, and Sarawak in the 1969 and 1974 elections. At the federal level, voters elect the 222-member House of Representatives of the bicameral Parliament. Members are elected from single-member constituencies drawn based on population using the first past the post system. The party that has the majority of the House of Representatives will form the federal government. The Constitution of Malaysia requires that a general election must be held at least once every five years. However, the Prime Minister can ask the Yang di-pertuan Agong (King) to dissolve the Parliament at any time before this five-year period has expired. A general election should be held no later than two months in West Malaysia and three months for East Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak) after the dissolution of the Parliament. Since independence in 1957, Barisan Nasional (formerly Alliance), a coalition of fourteen parties, had won all 13 general election. The 1969 election saw the first time the Alliance failed to obtain a two-thirds majority in Parliament (two-thirds majority being the majority required to pass most constitutional amendments). BN again lost the 2/3 majority in the 2008 and 2013 elections, the latter also saw the BN losing the popular vote while retaining the majority of seats. At the state level, voters elect representatives to the Dewan Undangan Negeri (State Legislative Assembly). The number of representatives varies between the different states, with as many as 71 electorates in Sarawak and as little as 15 in Perlis. Members are elected from single-member constituencies drawn based on population using the first-past-the-post system. State assembly constituencies are usually smaller (in area and population) than the parliamentary constituencies. The party that forms the majority of the state assembly will form the state government.

5 Malaysia held 13 th general elections on 5 May 2013 following the dissolution of the Parliament announced on 3 April Both the House of Representatives and 12 out of 13 state legislative assemblies (with the exception of Sarawak) were renewed. The federal ruling coalition - Barisan Nasional (BN), which dominated by the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) party, managed to form the government with 60% of the parliament seats even though it won just a mere 47.48% of the popular votes. The opposition coalition Pakatan Rakyat (PR) which lead by charisma leader Anwar Ibrahim failure to gain majority seats in the parliament to form the government although his coalition won the popular votes (50.87%) in the 13 th GE. The election result is the worst ever showing for the ruling coalition BN (before 1970 was Alliance), outmatching the 1969 election that triggered the May 13 riot. For state legislative assemblies elections, Barisan Nasional won 9 out of 12 states, including Kedah and Perak which were won by Pakatan Rakyat in the 2008 elections. Pakatan Rakyat retained state government in Kelantan, Penang and Selangor with better result. 1.4 ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE According to MITI Report 2014, Malaysia posted a strong GDP growth of 6.0% for 2014 and this growth has been the highest achieved since Malaysia is a highly open upper-middle income 2 economy. Malaysia was one of 13 countries identified by the Commission on Growth and Development in its 2008 Growth Report to have recorded average growth of more than 7 percent per year for 25 years or more. Economic growth was inclusive, as Malaysia also succeeded in nearly eradicating poverty: the share of households living below the national poverty line (USD 8.50 per day in 2012) fell from over 50 percent in the 1960s to less than 1.0 percent currently. 1.5 IMPORTANT POLITICAL AND SOCIAL EVENTS A year before the survey was started; a few controversial events were highlighted in Malaysia socio-politics scene. 1. On the Oct 14, 2013, Federal court had made their decision that the Non-Muslim in Peninsular Malaysia cannot use the word Allah in the publication to refer to God which disappointed the editor of The Herald Father Lawrence Andrew. Back in Dec 31, 2009, KL High Court judge Justice Lau Bee Lan had ruled that the Home 2

6 Ministry s ban on the use of the word was unlawful and unconstitutional as it violated Article 11 of the federal constitution. On Sept 10, 2013, the Home Ministry and government had submitted the grounds of their appeal against the decision. The chronology of Roman Catholic Church's case of over the usage of 'Allah' issue becoming a sensitive issue between the Malay-Muslim and the Non-Muslim community in Malaysia begin from 2009 to 2014 as reported in Astro Awani. In April 2011, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, endorsed the government's 10-point solution, to allow the publication and importation of the Bible in Bahasa Indonesia and Bahasa Malaysia for use by the Christian community just before the Sarawak state election. The court ruling in October 2014 just contradict which the 10-points solution proposed by PM Najib. 2. A large number of Malaysian public consider Lynas rare earth processing plant as an unwelcome investment in Malaysia. As reported in Malaysia Insider News, the experts said the prevailing problems in waste management, storage, disposal facility and waste cleaning at the Lynas factory can lead to radioactive leakages if the Australian firm fails to address the issues. According to earlier reports, the Gebeng refinery known as Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) produces a by-product known as Thorium (Th), a radioactive element that can causes cancer and is easily transported through wind and water. The public also lack of confident on the public institution that supposed to safe guard the safety of the plant. Back in 2012, about 3,000 Malaysians and global environmental activist have staged a protest against the refinery for rare earth elements being built by the Australian mining company Lynas over fears of radioactive contamination. It was the largest rally so far against the 146m plant in a Pahang state of the Malaysian peninsula. In 2014, it was the 4th year of protest of Malaysian residents against the Australian s rare earth processing facility. 3. Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared on 8 March 2014, bound from Kuala Lumpur for Beijing with 239 passengers and crew members on board. The slow response and handle for the search and rescue attracted heavy criticize from local and abroad. Until now, that is still no sign of debris of the flight but the authority declared flight as accident in accordance with Annexes 12 and 13 to the Chicago Convention with no survivors on 29 January Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim was sentenced to 5 years jail by the court of Appeal on the charge of sodomised his former aides Mohd. Saiful Bukhkari Azlan on 7 March The senstence technically barred him to run in a

7 by-election that would allow him to take over as Chief Minister of Selangor. The court ruling viewed as political by the general public. His wife, Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail replaced him to run in the by-election and won. The event later later triggered the Chief Minister crisis in Selangor which dragged on for a few months. The Sultan of Selangor (ruler) refused the nomination of Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail to replace Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim and the Pakatan Rakyat later had to accept appointment of Azmin Ali, deputy President of PKR (Dr Wan Azizah s deputy) as the new Chief Minister. Azmin Ali sworn in as Chief Minister on 23 September Another Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down by missile near eastern Ukraine on 17 July The flight bound from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur with 283 passenger and 15 crew members on board. This second air tragedy added to the sourness of the country. 2. TIMETABLE Activity Duration Preparation 2014/09/15-30 Pre-Test 2014/09/30-10/1 Fieldwork 2014/10/11-11/2 Peninsular Malaysia 2014/10/11-11/2 Sabah 2014/10/15-28 Sarawak 2014/10/ RESPONDENTS 3.1 CRITERIA OF SELECTING RESPONDENTS Data gathered through face-to-face interviews of adult citizen s aged 18 years old and above who had registered in the National Registration Department of Malaysia (NRD). The baseline information and address were drawn from the household information compiled by the Department of Statistic (DOS) and the latest electoral roll from the Election Commission of Malaysia. 3.2 RESEARCH ETHNICAL REVIEW Foreign researcher or Malaysian researcher based oversea need to apply to Economic Planning Unit of Prime Minister Department to obtain permit to carry out any form of

8 research in Malaysia. Otherwise, local researchers and research institution (public and private) are not bound by this rule. In other words, For the ABS IV we did not need to go through the review process in Malaysia. However, before the beginning of interview process, the interviewers informed all interviewees that we will not record your name or identifying information about you on the questionnaire. So no one will know who gave which answers to our questions. There is no risk to you in participating in the survey. There is also no benefit to you in participating in the survey. But if you answer our questions, you will help us understand how the public feels about issues facing the country today. Your participation in the survey is voluntary. If there are any questions you don't want to answer you don't have to answer them. And you can stop participating in the survey at any time SAMPLING PROCESS AND METHODOLOGY 4.1 SAMPLING SIZES AND ERROR MARGINS An indicator of data quality is the standard error of the estimate, on which the margin for sampling error is based. As survey statistics are mostly proportions, the key measure of data precision is the standard error of a proportion taken from a sample. It is computed as follows: _ + Z * p(1-p) n Where Z, at 95% confidence level is 1.96; p is the sample proportion estimate and n is the sample size. The overall sample size of 1206 voting-age adults gives a maximum error margin of 2.82% at the 95% confidence level, assuming a simple random sampling design. The sampling error is at its highest when true population being estimated is close to 50%. The following approximate 95%-confidence margins for sampling error should be made when aggregating data at various levels: Region Sample Size Error of Margin Malaysia % Peninsular Malaysia % Sabah % Sarawak %

9 4.2 SAMPLING SCHEME Selection of the study areas was based upon the March 2013 electoral roll and associated updated maps as it represents the most recent and updated sampling frame as opposed to the Malaysian Census which was completed in Based on the above plan, the survey team selected a total of 238 sampling locations based on localities within polling districts which were located in the state constituencies. The distribution of the sampling locations across all states in Malaysia is as follows: State Number of respondents Sampling Locations* Perlis 10 2 Kedah Penang Kelantan Terengganu 45 9 Pahang Perak Selangor Kuala Lumpur Negeri Sembilan 42 8 Melaka 30 6 Johor Sabah Sarawak Total * Selection of sampling locations based on polling districts The sampling population refers to the pool of respondents satisfying the demographic requirements from which potential respondents will be selected. The respondents were selected from within the pre-selected locality during the field survey. In each locality, interviewers were required to fulfil a quota of 50% male and 50% female respondents.

10 Household within a locality were then chosen using a 5-household skip pattern. That is, sample households were chosen using a fixed interval of 5 households in between the sampled ones; i.e. every 6 th household is sampled. Every enumerator was to continue visiting every sixth household until his/ her quota (that conforms to the pre-determined demographic characteristics) was achieved. A description of the distribution of respondents by gender, age group and state is provided below: Age Group Gender State Below Above Total Male Female Perlis Kedah Penang Kelantan Terengganu Pahang Perak Selangor Kuala Lumpur Negeri Sembilan Melaka Johor Sabah Sarawak Total FIRST STAGE-SELECTION OF PSU Respondents were proportionally divided by states of their residence in accordance with the population of each state. In each state, an appropriate number of sample locations based on polling districts would be randomly selected. Merdeka Center used the electoral map as the basis of its sampling selection as it reflects the most updates map that is officially available unlike the census map provided by the Malaysian Department of Statistics which is already a decade old and largely inaccurate in many

11 sub-urban and urban areas SECOND STAGE-SELECTION OF SSU Within each polling district, localities (corresponds with neighborhood, housing estate or village) were randomly selected THIRD STAGE-SELECTION OF HOUSEHOLDS In each selected locality, interval sampling is used to draw, on average 4 sample households. Household selection would begin from a random starting point, usually the most common public amenity such as bus stop, pay telephone or post box, with the first household being the 5 th house from the public amenity FOURTH STAGE-SELECTION OF RESPONDENT In each selected household, a respondent is randomly chosen among the household members who are above 18 years old using a predetermined age quota. In cases where there is no qualified probability respondent of a given gender, the interval sampling of households would continue until the average five sample respondents are identified in the locality. 4.3 NUMBER OF CALLS AND SUBSTITUTION/ALTERNATE SAMPLES We wish to note that in the course of the survey implementation in Malaysia, there were several instances where sampling locations had to be altered. The rationale for substitution includes: 1. Sampling location could not be found with allotted time (e.g. name changed, forest areas) 2. Demographic profile of the area does not fit survey purposes (ethnicity dominant area) and also due to small area 3. Access to location was difficult and would have taken more time than expected 4. No cooperation from local people (e.g. not permitted to enter the sampled location) 4.4 SURVEY STATISTICS State Target Actual Respondents Achievement Refusal* Perlis Kedah

12 Penang Kelantan Terengganu Pahang Perak Selangor Kuala Lumpur Negeri Sembilan Melaka Johor Sabah Sarawak Total *Respondent refuses to complete the survey- includes unwilling to be interviewed, drop during the interviewer session due to length of the questionnaire, time constraint, the person approached is not in the target population and etc. 5. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 5.1 PREPARATION QUESTIONNAIRE The questionnaire was prepared by the ABS Team and additional questions were added to the core ABS questionnaire to correspond to the Malaysian context. The definitive language version of the questionnaire, English, was translated into Malay and Chinese PRE-TESTING AND FINALIZING QUESTIONNAIRE To minimize the understanding gap between the questionnaire designers and the respondents, a pre-test was needed to solve the potential problems, such as unclear wording, conceptually vague sentences, recording difficulties etc. before the fieldwork began. The pre-test for this survey was carried on September 30, 2014 and October 1, 2014 in selected areas located in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur. A total of 30 responses were

13 obtained for this purpose. During the pre-test, observers were able to observe the field interviewers conducting their first interviews and select a diverse range of possible interviewees. The questionnaire was tested on adults from different socio-economic classes and ethnic backgrounds in order to: 1. Determine the time length of the interview 2. Test question sequence and identify bases 3. Correct and improve translation 4. Identify interviewer s recording difficulties 5. Find out which items are conceptually unclear 6. Check accuracy and adequacy of the questionnaire instructions 7. Determine whether the focus of the question was clear 8. Adding new items or eliminating less significant items After the pre-test, a de-briefing session was held on October 3, 2014 in Bangi to discuss matters arising in the fieldwork and necessary adjustments were made to the questionnaires TRAINING Three (3) separate training were conducted in 3 different locations prior to the fieldwork. These locations and date as below: Location Date Bangi, Selangor 2014/10/10 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah 2014/1014 Kuching, Sarawak 2014/10/15 The full training for field supervisors, coordinator and field interviewers in Peninsular Malaysia were conducted in Bangi, those trained in Kuching covered Sarawak, while those trained in Kota Kinabalu covered Sabah SUPERVISOR Prior to the full training, a separate briefing session was held with supervisors and coordinator a day before (October 9, 2014). The purposes of the session were to detail put the roles and responsibility of the supervisors and coordinators including

14 supervision, work-plan, daily update and quality control measure INTERVIEWER During the full training session, interviewers were instructed on the questionnaire, techniques in engaging interviewees, team coordination and safety. The interviewers were asked to read the questions to become familiar with the questionnaire. Some interviewers took part in the pre-test exercises, and were incorporated into the team organization of the project. Beyond learning the basics and objective of the project and a thorough review of the questionnaire, trainees engaged in mock interviews among participants and role playing over the course of intensive training. At the end of the training period, there was a review of the logistical and quality control measures as well as allocation to the field. At the end of the first fieldwork in Peninsula, Sabah & Sarawak, a de-briefing were held to further clarify on unclear matters and solve logistical issues. 5.2 FIELDWORK WORKERS ON HAND Project Secretariat Project leader 1 Assistants 2 Quality control assistants 2 Data entry assistants 2 Observers 7 Peninsular Malaysia Team supervisor 4 Coordinator 4 Interviewers 20 East Malaysia - Sabah Team supervisor 1 Coordinator 1 Interviewers 5 East Malaysia - Sarawak Team supervisors 1 Coordinator 1 Interviewers 5

15 5.2.2 SUPERVISION Supervisors reported to the project leader who monitored the study full-time. They observed interviewers, followed-up and checked on the field interviewers. They also ensured that field logistics were received promptly and administered properly EVALUATION OF INTERVIEWER'S WORK All first interviews of each field interviewer were observed by his/ her field supervisor, and then evaluated. By doing so, the field supervisor could instruct the interviewer on how to improve interviewing skills and avoid refusal from respondent. The field supervisor always stayed within the vicinity of the sample spot to conduct checks and was in regular contact with interviewers during the fieldwork SPOT-CHEKING Part of quality control was to make sure at least 30% of each interviewer s output was spot-checked and back-checked. Once an incomplete or inconsistent answer was spotted in the questionnaire, the field supervisor went back to the respondent s house to re-ask the question for verification RE-TESTING Slightly about 25% of the respondents were inspected and their feedback obtained through direct observation of the supervisors and observers, post-survey in person inspection and telephone calls for quality control purposes. (Please refer to the Appendix for more details) 5.3 FIELD EDITING DATA PROCESSING After each interview, the interviewer was asked to go over her own work and check for consistency. Then, the completed questionnaires were submitted to team supervisor to verify the interviewers work DATA ENTERING AND CLEANING Office verifiers conducted final consistency checks on all completed questionnaires prior to coding. Data was then verified and the consistency of the encoded data was checked before data tables were generated. 5.4 QUALITY CONTROL PROCEDURE The following section describes the quality control procedures put in place with respect to the in-person survey for the above the project.

16 1. Based on the methodology and sampling frame implemented, interviewers delivered completed questionnaires at the end of each day their supervisors who then proceed to check against expected targets by age group, gender, ethnicity and location. When completed, supervisor submitted the questionnaires to the verifier. 2. The verifier then checks each questionnaire on the following criteria: a. Compliance with required survey specifications i.e. ethnicity, age, gender and location of the respondent, b. Completeness in implementation - has each question been asked and completed? c. Clarify of response - did the interviewer record the responses clearly and in full? Both in terms of handwriting and content for open-ended and explanatory items d. Classification of responses - did the interviewer record responses in the appropriate choices provided? Where it does not coincide, have explanations been provided to state otherwise? 3. Questionnaires that were acceptable after verification were then sent for random inspection procedures. Meanwhile questionnaires that failed verification were sorted for either re-administration or rejection. 4. Once received, re-administered questionnaires were subjected to the same verification process again. 5. Accepted questionnaires sent for quality inspection were sorted according to location and demographics. Respondents who did not provide references to call backs would be listed for in-person verification, while the remainder were listed for telephone inspection. 6. The purpose of the inspection was to act as a check on whether interviewers followed the sampling plan and implemented the questionnaire as instructed. The inspection procedure primarily covered the following: a. Verification that the interview was carried out by the interviewer at the particular location and stated date. b. Random checking on questions asked, with particular emphasis on difficult questions and items that were deemed relevant to respondents.

17 c. In all, 300 of the respondents interviewed were contacted for quality control inspection either by telephone or in-person. The breakdown of questionnaires checked as follows: i. In-person inspection : 20 ii. Telephone inspection : Questionnaires that had been inspected and accepted were then released for data entry. Inspections which revealed problematic questionnaires were sent for consideration on whether to be re-administered or to be rejected. 8. All accepted questionnaires were then released for data entry into SPSS. 9. Finally, all entries recorded on the system (SPSS) were subjected to a through detailed consistency and correctness check to ensure that information was entered correctly and matched with required specifications e.g. questionnaire skip patterns. 10. Once completed, the data was made available for report preparation. 6. RELIABILITY ANALYSIS As part of a full review of the survey, questions were subjected to a reliability analysis. Reliability was measured using Cronbach s alpha, α. It is a common rule of thumb that a Cronbach α value of.6 to.7 is an acceptable value. This Technical Report uses commonly accepted rule of thumb in interpreting Cronbach s α values: α 0.9 Excellent 0.7 α < 0.9 Good 0.6 α < 0.7 Acceptable 0.5 α < 0.6 Below Standard α < 0.5 Poor 6.1 ECONOMIC EVALUTIONS The table shows that all the variables have item-total correlations and the overall α above acceptable cut-off point. The overall α is and none of the single items would substantially affected overall reliability if they were deleted. Therefore, it is not necessary to delete any items.

18 Cronbach's α =.763 Corrected Item-total correlation Cronbach's α if item deleted Q1. How would you rate the overall economic condition of our country today? Q2. How would you describe the change in the economic condition of our country over the last few years? Q3. What do you think will be the state of our country s economic condition a few years from now? Q4. As for your own family, how do you rate the economic situation of your family today? Q5. How would you compare the current economic condition of your family with what it was a few years ago? Q6. What do you think the economic situation of your family will be a few years from now? TRUST IN POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS The table shows a good overall Cronbach s value for the 13 items. The overall α is The consistency of each concept was acceptable in terms of reliability analysis. Cronbach's α =.895 Corrected Item-total correlation Cronbach's α if item deleted Q7. The Prime Minister Q8. The courts Q9. The national

19 government [in capital city] Q10. Political parties [not any specific party] Q11. Parliament Q12. Civil service Q13. The military(or armed forces) Q14. The police Q15. Local government Q16. Newspapers Q17. Television Q18. Election Commission Q19. NGOs SOCIAL CAPITAL FAMILY TRUST Table below shows (Social Capital) a moderately weak of Cronbach s alpha value which is below 0.7. This may due to the small number of variables input to the test. (Nunally, 1978) shows a calculating of additional items one would need to raise the reliability of an instrument to the desired value by assuming that the additional items are acceptable. In other words, as the number of items increases, the value of Cronbach s Alpha will increase. Removing item Q28 resulted in an increase in Cronbach s alpha from to 0.633, but there was not much difference (increase only by 0.03) in the coefficient Cronbach s Alpha. Additionally, the Corrected Item-Total Correlation for each item above the cut-off point. Cronbach's α =.603 Corrected Item-total correlation Cronbach's α if item deleted Q26. Your relatives Q27. Your neighbors Q28. Other people you interact with

20 6.3.2 SOCIAL NETWORK The Cronbach s α value for the three items is.276, which is considered unacceptable. Each of the three items is positively correlated with each of the other questions in this battery, though the correlations are low. Q32 (.048) has the lowest corrected item-total correlation. Deleting Q32 from this battery would have a moderate but inconsequential effect on the overall Cronbach s α value. That is, if it were to be deleted, it would increase the overall reliability to.453, which is still below that minimum threshold (α = 0.6) for it to be acceptable. Deleting any of Q30 or Q31 from this battery would not have significant effect on the overall Cronbach s α value, i.e., none of the items would increase the reliability if they were deleted because all values are less than the overall reliability. Cronbach's α =.276 Corrected Item-total correlation Cronbach's α if item deleted Q30. If you have a difficult problem to manage, are there people outside your household you can ask for help? Q31. When people outside your household have problems, do they come to you for help? Q32. If you had friends or co-workers whose opinions on politics differed from yours, would you have a hard time conversing with them? ACCESS TO PUBLIC SERVICE The table shows a moderately weak of Cronbach s alpha value which is below 0.7. Removing items Q42 resulted in an increase in Cronbach s alpha from to 0.677, but there was not much difference (increase only by 0.023) in the coefficient Cronbach s Alpha when this item removed and all the items correlated above 0.3. Cronbach's α =.654 Corrected Item-total correlation Cronbach's α if item deleted Q39. An identity document (such as a birth certificate or passport) Q40. A place in a public

21 primary school for a child Q41. Medical treatment at a nearby clinic Q42. Help from the police when you need it PSYCHOLOGICAL INVOLVEMENT The table shows a moderately weak of Cronbach s alpha value which is below 0.7 and this may due to the small number of variables input to the test. The Corrected Item-Total Correlation shows the three items correlated above 0.3. Cronbach's α =.615 Corrected Item-total correlation Cronbach's α if item deleted Q44. How interested would you say you are in politics? Q45. How often do you follow news about politics and government? Q46. When you get together with your family members or friends, how often do you discuss political matters? INTERNET AND SOCIAL MEDIA The Cronbach s α value for the six items is.384, which is considered unacceptable. Each of the five items is positively correlated with each of the other questions in this battery. Q47 has a negative correlation due to the question s wording. This question combines Q47 and Q48 and thus is not compatible with other questions. Therefore, it should be considered to change the way the question being asked. Cronbach's α =.384 Q47. Where do you most surf the Internet (different wording) Q48. Do you have Internet access on a mobile phone? (not asked) Corrected Item-total Correlation Cronbach's α If Item Deleted

22 Q49. How often do you use the internet? Q50. Do you currently use any of the following social media networks? Q51. How often do you use the Internet including social media networks to find information about politics and government? Q52. How often do you use the Internet including social media networks to express your opinion about politics and government? TRADITIONALISM Table below shows a moderately weak of Cronbach s alpha value which is slightly below 0.7. Removing of item Q67 resulted in an increase in Cronbach s alpha from to 0.712, even though removing of this item only increasing the value by but this can be accepted as the coefficient Cronbach s Alpha improved to and this variable also shows poorly correlated with other variables. Cronbach's α =.698 Corrected Item-total correlation Cronbach's α if item deleted Q55.For the sake of the family, the individual should put his personal interests second. Q56.In a group, we should sacrifice our individual interest for the sake of the group s collective interest. Q57.For the sake of national interest, individual interest could be sacrificed. Q58.When dealing with others, developing a long-term relationship is more important than securing one s immediate interest Q59.When dealing with others, one

23 should not only focus on immediate interest but also plan for future. Q60.Even if parents demands are unreasonable, children still should do what they ask. Q61.When a mother-in-law and a daughter-in-law come into conflict, even if the mother-in-law is in the wrong, the husband should still persuade his wife to obey his mother. Q62.Being a student, one should not question the authority of their teacher. Q63.In a group, we should avoid open quarrel to preserve the harmony of the group. Q64.Even if there is some disagreement with others, one should avoid the conflict. Q65.A person should not insist on his own opinion if his co-workers disagree with him. Q66.Wealth and poverty, success and failure are all determined by fate. Q67.If one could have only one child, it is more preferable to have a boy than a girl. Q68.When dealing with others, one should not be preoccupied with temporary gains and losses POLITICAL PARTICIPATION EXPRESSION OF IDEAS The Cronbach s α value for the five items is.858, which is considered good. Each of the five items is positively correlated with each of the other questions in this module. Q72

24 (.603) has the lowest corrected item-total correlation. Deleting any of the items from this battery would not have significant effect on the overall Cronbach s α value, i.e., none of the items would increase the reliability if they were deleted because all values are less than the overall reliability. Cronbach's α =.858 Corrected Item-total correlation Cronbach's α if item deleted Q69. Contacted elected officials or legislative representatives at any level. Q70. Contacted officials at higher level. Q71. Contacted traditional leaders/community leaders Q72. Contacted other influential people outside the government Q73. Contacted news media CIVIC ACTION The Cronbach s α value for the five items is.577, which is considered poor. Q74, Q75, Q76 and Q77 are positively correlated with each of the other questions in this battery. Deleting any of the items from this battery would not have significant effect on the overall Cronbach s α value, i.e., none of the items would increase the reliability if they were deleted because all values are less than the overall reliability. Q78 has the lowest correlation with the other four questions in this module. Deleting this question from the battery would significantly increase the overall reliability from poor to good.817. Hence, it is necessary to re-consider including this question in the battery along with Q74, Q75, Q76 and Q77 in the implementation of the questionnaire in the future. Cronbach's α =.577 Corrected Item-total correlation Cronbach's α if item deleted Q74. Got together with others to try to resolve local problems

25 Q75. Got together with others to raise an issue or sign a petition. Q76. Attended a demonstration or protest march. Q77. Used force or violence for a political cause. Q78. Have you voted in every election, voted in most elections, voted in some elections or hardly ever voted? REGIME PREFERENCE IDEAL SYSTEM OF DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENT The Cronbach s α value for the three items is.331, which is considered unacceptable. Each of the four items is positively correlated with each of the other questions in this battery, but the correlations are low. Deleting any of the items from this battery would not have significant effect on the overall Cronbach s α value, i.e., none of the items would increase the reliability if they were deleted because all values are less than the overall reliability. Cronbach's α =.331 Corrected Item-total correlation Cronbach's α if item deleted Q79+Q79a. Regime Preference 1: Statement 1. Government leaders implement what voters want. Statement 2. Government leaders do what they think is best for the people. Q80+Q80a. Regime Preference 2: Statement 1. Government is our employee, the people should tell

26 government what needs to be done. Statement 2. The government is like parent, it should decide what is good for us. Q81+Q81a. Regime Preference 3: Statement 1. The media should have the right to publish news and ideas without government control. Statement 2. The government should have the right to prevent the media from publishing things that might be politically destabilizing. Q82+Q82a. Regime Preference 4: Statement 1. Political leaders are chosen by the people through open and competitive elections. Statement 2. Political leaders are chosen on the basis on their virtue and capability even without election OPERATION OF CURRENT GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS Table below shows a good overall Cronbach s value for the four items. The overall α Is The consistency of each concept was acceptable in terms of reliability analysis. Cronbach's α =.834 Corrected Item-total correlation Cronbach's α if item deleted Q83. Over the long run, our system of government is capable of solving the problems our country faces

27 Q84. Thinking in general, I am proud of our system of government. Q85. A system like ours, even if it runs into problems, deserves the people's support. Q86. I would rather live under our system of government than any other that I can think of MEANING OF DEMOCRACY The Cronbach s α value for the four items is.665, which is considered acceptable. Each of the four items is positively correlated with each of the other questions in this battery. Deleting any of the items from this battery would not have significant effect on the overall Cronbach s α value, i.e., none of the items would increase the reliability if they were deleted because all values are less than or similar to the overall reliability. Cronbach's α =.665 Q Government narrows the gap between the rich and the poor. 2. People choose the government leaders in free and fair election. 3. Government does not waste any public money. 4. People are free to express their political views openly. Q The legislature has oversight over the government. 2. Basic necessities, like food, clothes and shelter, are provided for all. 3. People are free to organize political groups. 4. Government provides people with quality public services. Q Government ensures law and order. 2. Media is free to criticize the things government does. 3. Government ensures job opportunities Corrected Item-total Correlation Cronbach's α If Item Deleted

28 for all. 4. Multiple parties compete fairly in the election. Q People have the freedom to take part in protests and demonstrations. 2. Politics is clean and free of corruption. 3. The court protects the ordinary people from the abuse of government power. 4. People receive state aid if they are unemployed QUALITY OF GOVERNANCE Q103 and Q104 had the lowest correlations with the other eight questions. The total Cronbach s α value of the ten items was.640. The consistency of each item was therefore acceptable in terms of reliability analysis. There was no significant difference in the coefficient Cronbach's α when we removed individual items. Cronbach's α =.640 Corrected Item-total correlation Cronbach's α if item deleted Q101.People have the power to change a government they don t like. Q102.Political parties or candidates in our country have equal access to the mass media during the election period. Q103.Between elections, the people have no way of holding the government responsible for its actions. Q104.When government leaders break the laws, there is nothing the court can do. Q105.All citizens from different ethnic communities in [Country X] are treated equally by the government. Q106.Rich and poor people are treated equally by the government Q107.People have basic necessities like

29 food, clothes, and shelter. Q108.People are free to speak what they think without fear. Q109.People can join any organization they like without fear PREFERENCE FOR DEMOCRACY The Cronbach s α value for the five items is.704, which is considered good. Each of the five items is positively correlated with each of the other questions in this battery. Q127 (.342) has the lowest corrected item-total correlation. Deleting any of the items from this battery would not have significant effect on the overall Cronbach s α value, i.e., none of the items would increase the reliability if they were deleted because all values are less than the overall reliability. Cronbach's α =.704 Corrected Item-total correlation Cronbach's α if item deleted Q125. Which of the following statements comes closest to your own opinion? (1) Democracy is always preferable to any other kind of government (2) Under some circumstances, an authoritarian government can be preferable to a democratic one (3) For people like me, it does not matter whether we have a democratic or a nondemocratic regime Q126. Which of the following statements comes closer to your own view? (1) Democracy is capable of solving the problems of our society (2) Democracy cannot solve our society s problems Q127. If you had to choose between democracy and economic development, which would you say is more important?

30 Q128. If you had to choose between reducing economic inequality and protecting political freedom, which would you say is more important? Q129. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: Democracy may have its problems, but it is still the best form of government LEGITMACY OF DEMOCRACY/ DETACHMENT FROM AUTHORITARIANISM The Cronbach s α value for the four items is.790, which is considered good. Each of the four items is positively correlated with each of the other questions in this module. Q131 (.538) has the lowest corrected item-total correlation. Deleting any of the items from this battery would not have significant effect on the overall Cronbach s α value, i.e., none of the items would increase the reliability if they were deleted because all values are less than the overall reliability. Cronbach's α =.790 Q130. We should get rid of parliament and elections and have a strong leader decide things Q131. Only one political party should be allowed to stand for election and hold office Q132. The army (military) should come in to govern the country Q133. We should get rid of elections and parliaments and have experts make decisions on behalf of the people Corrected Item-total Correlation Cronbach's α If Item Deleted CITIZEN EMPOWERMENT AND POLITICAL SUPPORT The Cronbach s α value for the five items is.705, which is considered good. Each of the five items is positively correlated with each of the other questions in this module. Q134 (.385) has the lowest corrected item-total correlation. Deleting any of the items from this battery would not have significant effect on the overall Cronbach s α value, i.e., none of the items would increase the reliability if they were deleted because all values are less

31 than the overall reliability. Cronbach's α =.705 Q134. I think I have the ability to participate in politics Q135. Sometimes politics and government seems so complicated that a person like me can t really understand what is going on Q136. People like me don t have any influence over what the government does Q137. You can generally trust the people who run our government to do what is right Q138. A citizen should always remain loyal only to his country, no matter how imperfect it is or what wrong it has done Corrected Item-total Correlation Cronbach's α If Item Deleted AUTHORITARIAN/DEMOCRATIC VALUES Each of the eleven questions showed positive correlation with the other ten questions. Q139 had the lowest correlation. The total Cronbach s α value for the eleven items was.643. The consistency of each item was acceptable in terms of reliability analysis. There was no significant difference in the coefficient Cronbach's α when we removed individual items. There are therefore no items that need to be deleted. Cronbach's α =.643 Corrected Item-total correlation Cronbach's α if item deleted Q139.Women should not be involved in politics as much as men. Q140.The government should consult religious authorities when interpreting the laws. Q141.People with little or no education should have as much say in politics as highly-educated

32 people. Q142.Government leaders are like the head of a family; we should all follow their decisions. Q143.The government should decide whether certain ideas should be allowed to be discussed in society. Q144.Harmony of the community will be disrupted if people organize lots of groups. Q145.When judges decide important cases, they should accept the view of the executive branch. Q146.If the government is constantly checked [i.e. monitored and supervised] by the legislature, it cannot possibly accomplish great things. Q147.If we have political leaders who are morally upright, we can let them decide everything. Q148.If people have too many different ways of thinking, society will be chaotic. Q149.When the country is facing a difficult situation, it is ok for the government to disregard the law in order to deal with the situation GLOBALIZATION The Cronbach s α value for the four items is.485, which is considered poor. Each of the four items is positively correlated with each of the other questions in this module, though the correlations are low. Deleting any of the items from this battery would not have significant effect on the overall Cronbach s α value, i.e., none of the items would increase the reliability if they were deleted because all values are less than the overall reliability. Cronbach's α =.485 Corrected Item-total correlation Cronbach's α if item deleted Q150.How closely do you follow major events

33 in foreign countries / the world? Q151.Our country should defend our way of life instead of becoming more and more like other countries. Q152.Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: We should protect our farmers and workers by limiting the import of foreign goods. Q153. Do you think the government should increase or decrease the inflow of foreign immigrants into the country? REDISTRIBUTION The Cronbach s α value for the five items is.569, which is considered unacceptable. Each of the six items is positively correlated with each of the other questions in this module, though the correlations are low. Deleting any of the items from this battery would not have significant effect on the overall Cronbach s α value, i.e., none of the items would increase the reliability if they were deleted because all values are less than or similar to the overall reliability. Cronbach's α =.569 Q155. How fair do you think income distribution is in Malaysia? Q156. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: It is the responsibility of the government to reduce the differences between people with high income and those with low incomes. Q157. How concerned are you about the loss of your or your family's major source of income within the next 12 months? Q158. The following is a hypothetical question: If you were unfortunate enough to lose your main source of Corrected Item-total Correlation Cronbach's α If Item Deleted