Rumours that Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim is facing a dampening in popularity since taking power almost two years ago may yet be proven true.

khalid ibrahim pc 120809 02According to a Merdeka Centre poll, the MB's approval rating has dropped eight points in recent months - from a high of 62 percent in June 2009 to 54 percent in January this year.

The survey comes hot in the heels of recent claims of rampant dissatisfaction in the state with Khalid's rule.

However, interestingly the approval rating for the state government has remained quite strong - it stands at 60 percent, only losing ground slightly from 64 percent in June 2009.

The survey was revealed today in a close-door discussion on the public perception towards the Pakatan Rakyat state government at a Pakatan Rakyat retreat in Subang Jaya.

Survey’s useful

Sources said Khalid strutted his usual corporate savvy by stressing  the need to serve Selangor’s five million residents, or "customers" as he calls it, with the outmost efficiently.

He also appealed to the elected representatives to win over the state public service institution in order for state policies to be implemented smoothly.

Speaking to reporters during a break later, the main organisation of the retreat Yaakob Sapari said the surveys commissioned by the state had helped identify weaknesses in the Pakatan government.

An area of concern was the state government’s problems in communicating with the public.

"Currently, the public mostly subscribe to the mainstream media, as such information from the state government does not get through. Only a few actually use the alternative media," he said.

"This is something that we must address to make sure that our message gets through to the public".

No ‘Perak style’ takeover

On rumours that BN will attempt to wrest the state from Pakatan next month, Yaakob said the state government was aware of it and are making preparations, just in case.

"This is BN's psy-war. They have lost the battle for the votes of the rakyat. They should have gone to the rakyat to try to win them over, but instead, they are now using the police and courts," he said.

"We know about all this and are monitoring the situation. In fact we are prepared to face this and have plans to counter it. I can assure you, no elected representatives will defect. What happen in Perak shall not repeat in Selangor," he said.

In February last year, Pakatan lost control of the state government after three of its assemblypersons defected and became BN friendly independents.

A similar takeover is rumoured to involve criminal and legal action against Khalid, Yaakop along with executive council members Ronnie Liu and Dr Xavier Jayakumamar.

All four have either outstanding cases or are under investigation by either the police or the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.