KUALA LUMPUR, Jan. 17 -- Domestic political instability, which includes ethnic and religious tensions, was listed as the top security challenge for Malaysia in 2020, according to a new poll.

In the "State of Southeast Asia 2020" survey by the Singapore-based ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, 81 per cent of those surveyed in Malaysia named domestic political instability as the most pronounced security challenge in 2020.

The 2020 figure was up from 45.9 per cent in the previous year's poll.

A total of 1,308 respondents from all ten Asean member states participated in the 2020 survey, with 222 respondents from Malaysia.

The Pakatan Harapan government previously clinched a shock victory over Barisan Nasional in the May 2018 general election. ...