By NURUL SUHAIDI / Pic TMR

MOST people both in Malaysia and globally expect this year to be better than 2021. 

In Malaysia, 82% of the Ipsos Predictions for 2022 survey’s respondents held this sentiment, despite the challenges and disappointments faced last year. 

In China, 94% of respondents were expecting this year to be stronger, followed by India (83%), Australia (82%), Singapore (79%), the UK (72%), South Korea (71%), the US (71%) and Japan (54%). 

With regard to New Year’s resolutions, 82% of Malaysians said they were starting 2022 with specific and personal resolutions whereas globally, on average about 78%, have set New Year’s resolutions for themselves. 

Ipsos Public Affairs associate director Lars Erik Lie noted that people’s expectations were similar for 2021, however, there was a broad agreement that it did not turn out well. The survey also highlighted that 62% of Malaysian families agreed that 2021 was a bad year for themselves and their families. 

South Korean respondents (74%) shared this sentiment, followed by India (63%), Singapore (60%), Australia (59%), the UK (56%) and the US (50%), bringing the global average to 58% significantly agreeing on this. 

“Last year did not turn out as many had hoped — boosted by new variants, Covid-19 impacted our lives as much, if not more than in 2020. 

“As Malaysians and their fellow global citizens look back, the verdict is that 2021 was a year to forget,” he said in a statement yesterday.