Poll Results
KUALA LUMPUR, 21 January 2021 – The UCSI Poll Research Centre recently released a poll result on ‘How are you coping with the Movement Control Order (MCO) 2.0?’. The poll was conducted among 951 people from Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Johor, and Penang. The margin of sampling error for this sample size is +/- 3%.
In the survey, 74.8% of the respondents stated that they found the MCO 2.0 to be challenging but manageable, while 17.8% of the respondents found it to be no problem at all, and 7.5% of the respondents were not able to cope with it.
When further asked about the ability to cope if the MCO 2.0 is extended, 74.3% of the respondents felt it will be challenging but manageable, 12.2% of the respondents said it would no problem at all, and 13.5% of the respondents indicated that they will not be able to cope with it.
The table below shows the respondents' answers when they were asked on the category of activities they found challenging during the MCO 2.0:
|
No. |
Category |
Percentage of respondents (%) |
|
1 |
Financial |
61.4 |
|
2 |
Social Interaction |
51.6 |
|
3 |
Mental Health |
49.2 |
|
4 |
Working |
48.9 |
|
5 |
Purchase of groceries/necessities |
24.5 |
The results were further analysed with the respondents’ age group and location (area of staying and state) on how they are coping with the MCO 2.0. Interestingly, respondents aged 25 years and below, as well as 56 years old and above were able to cope with MCO 2.0 better compared to other age groups.
|
|
Age Group |
|||
|
|
25 and below |
26 - 39 |
40 - 55 |
56 and above |
|
Challenging but manageable |
71.9% |
73.3% |
79.7% |
73.1% |
|
No problem at all |
20.2% |
18.4% |
13.7% |
21.5% |
|
Not able to cope with it |
7.9% |
8.4% |
6.6% |
5.4% |
|
Total |
100.0% |
100.0% |
100.0% |
100.0% |
In terms of location, respondents living in urban areas are coping with the MCO 2.0 better than the respondents living in semi-urban and rural areas based on the selected survey states.
|
|
Area of Staying |
State |
||||
|
|
Urban |
Semi-urban |
Rural |
Selangor and Kuala Lumpur |
Penang |
Johor |
|
Challenging but manageable |
69.0% |
79.5% |
83.1% |
73.7% |
75.1% |
76.1% |
|
No problem at all |
25.3% |
11.4% |
8.5% |
21.0% |
17.7% |
12.9% |
|
Not able to cope with it |
5.8% |
9.1% |
8.5% |
5.4% |
7.2% |
11.0% |
|
Total |
100.0% |
100.0% |
100.0% |
100.0% |
100.0% |
100.0% |
The respondents were also asked if they agreed that the spike in Covid-19 cases was due to public non-adherence to the SOPs. 68% of the respondents said 'Yes', 18% of the respondents said 'No', and 14% of the respondents were uncertain.
UCSI Poll Research Centre said that the public showed a higher adaption to the MCO 2.0, especially in the activities such as purchasing groceries/necessities and working as the industries and merchants have a more mature mechanism in managing the modes of working and retailing compared to the previous MCO.
Due to the pandemic, a majority of the people were affected in terms of their income. Additionally, financial activities have also become the main challenge for most people as many activities came to a halt to break the COVID-19 chain.
One of the reasons for the difference in coping with the MCO 2.0 in the staying areas may be due to the lack of infrastructures such as internet connectivity and supply chain. This is why people from the semi-urban and rural areas find it more challenging to cope with the MCO2.0.
About UCSI Poll Research Centre The UCSI Poll Research Centre (UCSI-PRC) is a public opinion research company owned by the UCSI Group. Its main objective is to utilise original and scientific research methodologies to investigate and analyse public opinions and attitudes.
