Most Perakians want fresh poll
A new survey has revealed that 74 percent of voters in Perak want a fresh election to resolve the political crisis in the state.
Independent pollster Merdeka Centre's latest survey revealed that 74 percent of voters in Perak want a fresh election to resolve the political crisis in the state. 
A whopping 76 percent of respondents expressed that "the people, through elections" should decide who gets to form the government as opposed to 21 percent who felt it was the prerogative of the palace.
A further 62 percent said the role of the palace in the crisis "does not reflect the will of the people".
The survey involved 507 respondents polled between Feb 6 and Feb 8.
The poll was carried out a day after Sultan Azlan Shah told Pakatan Rakyat's Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin to resign as menteri besar on Feb 5.
On Feb 4, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak announced that Barisan Nasional had the majority to form the Perak government with the support of four Pakatan Rakyat state reps who quit the fledgling coalition.
On the subject of defections, 66 percent of survey respondents said they do not accept governments formed through defections.
Malays appeared to be split
The survey results showed that the non-Malays were overwhelmingly against the formation of the new BN government but the Malays appeared to be split on this issue.
Of the 236 Malays polled, 46 percent said the crisis will result in Pakatan Rakyat losing public support while 48 percent said that support for BN would increase.
On how best to resolve the crisis, 51 percent of Malays said the solution was to "accept the new government" while 26 percent called for by-elections in the three seats currently held by independents and 20 percent called for fresh statewide polls.
"The responses of the Malay electorate may reflect the political leanings of the respondents there," explained Merdeka Centre director Ibrahim Suffian when contacted.
In contrast, most Chinese and Indian respondents indicated that Pakatan Rakyat's support would increase while BN's would decrease.
The survey results however indicated that newly appointed Menteri Besar Dr Zambry Abd Kadir and BN face an uphill task to win the racially mixed Bukit Gantang seat in an upcoming by-election.
