IDE survey: Hishammuddin tops poll for next Prime Minister

UMNO vice-president, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein tops the list of voters' in Selangor to succeed Datuk Seri Najib Razak as Prime Minister.

This was revealed in a survey conducted by Institut Darul Ehsan (IDE) towards voters' perceptions in the state.

The survey asked respondents: "Which UMNO leader is most suitable to succeed Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak?"

Hishammuddin's popularity as Defence Minister supersedes that of Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, with a slim advantage of 1 per cent.

From the 1,761 respondents, 31 per cent picked Hishammuddin as Prime Minister and 31 per cent opted for Ahmad Zahid.

Interestingly, in a support analysis for the country's political icon, Ahmad Zahid was voted most popular among voters aged between 51 and 60, while Hishammuddin is a favourite among 31 to 50-year-old voters.

The third most popular leader among voters (aged between 21 and 30) is Youth and Sports Minister, Khairy Jamaluddin with 28 per cent of the respondents opined that the UMNO Youth chief is most suitable to lead the country.

This was followed by UMNO Supreme Council member Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, who clinched 6 per cent and Kelantan UMNO chief, Tan Sri Annuar Musa (4 per cent).

The survey was conducted from Aug 26 to Aug 30 in Selangor.