Pew Research Centre: Putin a favourite in Malaysia

More Malaysians are supportive of Russia and its president Vladimir Putin now compared to when the nation invaded Ukraine two years ago, said Washington based pollster, Pew Research Centre in a report released last night.

Of respondents in the 35 countries surveyed, Malaysians have the most positive view on Russia and its president Vladimir Putin, which have stayed “very negative” elsewhere since the invasion.

“A median of 65 per cent across 35 countries have an unfavourable view of the country, and 73 per cent have no confidence in Putin doing the right thing regarding world affairs,” Pew Research Centre said in an accompanying press release.

“Malaysia is the only country where a majority express a favourable opinion of Russia, with nearly 6 in 10 Malaysians saying this,” the report said.

Upto 57 percent of Malaysians found Russia favourable or somewhat favourable. Putin’s ratings in Malaysia is even higher at 61 percent. The youngest age group of Malaysians – 18 to 35 years old – preferred Russia.

In 2022, just 47 per cent of Malaysians viewed Russia positively and 59 per cent believed in Putin whereas 28 per cent of Singaporeans favoured Russia and 36 per cent believed in Putin.

Malaysia and the Philippines are the only two countries surveyed where majorities express confidence in Putin, including about 2 in 10 in each country who have a lot of confidence in the Russian president,” the report noted.

In the same survey, 61 per cent of Malaysians said they had little to no confidence in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to do the right thing in world affairs.

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