KUCHING: A recent survey by academician Datuk Prof Dr Jayum Jawan, which assessed the performance of Dayak ministers in the government, may have been conducted with an underlying agenda, says Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.
The Minister for Youth, Sports, and Entrepreneur Development was disappointed with the findings, saying the result was unfair and selective.
The survey, carried out by Prof Dr Jayum, evaluated the performance of 18 Sarawak Dayak ministers and deputy ministers, based on the opinions of 183 Dayak respondents. The results showed that only three ministers received a ‘passing’ approval rating of 50 per cent or above, while the rest were rated poorly.
“I came across this on social media and in the newspapers, where the professor claimed the performance of the Dayak ministers was below par. To me, this is not very appropriate.
“Why focus only on the Dayak ministers? If you are going to assess performance, then assess all ministers – whether they are Malay, Chinese, or from other communities,” he added.
Abdul Karim pointed out that there are 18 ministers and deputy ministers at both the federal and state levels.
He questioned the implications of the survey’s suggestion that only three out of 18 ministers were performing well, as it could imply that those elected by the people were not capable.
“I noticed that the survey was based on just 183 respondents, which is too small a sample size. If it had involved 2,000 respondents, we could accept the results.
“But with only just over a hundred, you could be picking your friends, who might be biased against the government. Naturally, they will have negative things to say,” Abdul Karim added.
Asked whether he thought there might be an agenda behind the survey, Abdul Karim said that was a question for Prof Dr Jayum himself.
“That’s something we should ask the professor. I can’t answer that. But I do find it suspicious why such findings were released.
“Why focus solely on Dayak ministers? And why conduct the survey with such a small sample size? Maybe he has his own agenda, especially with the upcoming elections. Only he can answer that,” Abdul Karim said.
His comments were made in response to the methodology of Prof Dr Jayum’s survey, which suggested that only a small percentage of Dayak ministers in government were seen positively by the Dayak community.
Abdul Karim made these remarks during a press conference on the ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup, held at the Godown Amphitheatre, Kuching Waterfront.
