Survey evaluating Dayak ministers, deputies ‘biased and unfair’, says Karim

PETALING JAYA: A Sarawak minister has slammed as “biased and unfair” a survey evaluating the performance of Dayak ministers and deputy ministers.

Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah also questioned the motive of the poll conducted by Academy of Sciences Malaysia fellow Jayum Jawan, Borneo Post reported.

“Why do you identify only Dayak ministers and deputy ministers?

“If you want to do an assessment, do it for everyone – the Malays and Chinese,” he was quoted as saying and suggesting that there was an agenda behind the “selective evaluation”.

Karim, who is the Sarawak tourism, creative industry and performing arts minister, also took issue with the reported sample size of 183 respondents, saying it presented a “significant flaw” in the survey.

He said it was possible the pollster may have chosen his own test group, and that if one’s friends were anti-government “of course, they will say negative things”.

According to Jayum, only three of the 18 Dayak ministers and deputy ministers at the federal and state levels received an approval rating of 50% and above for their performance.

Karim questioned the timing of the survey and believed that it is linked to the upcoming state election.

“We are close to the election and such findings could unfairly undermine the credibility of the ministers and the premier’s selection for the Cabinet,” he said, adding that it was inappropriate to single out Dayak ministers.

Yesterday, New Straits Times reported that some Dayak deputy ministers in the state government reacted negatively to the ratings and questioned the methodology as well as the criteria used in the survey.