A recent survey finds that many Singaporeans, Indonesians, and Filipinos are concerned about the war in Ukraine; an event that is physically thousands of kilometres away, but practically, having a significant impact on their everyday life.
The results from a survey of 1,000 people from Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines, which was conducted in March by Milieu Insight, a Singapore-based consumer research and analytics company. It released the results on Monday (Mar 28).
Many people from all three countries expressed concern about the deaths caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. When offered a range of words to describe their feelings, the number one choice of respondents in all three countries was “worried”.
Other areas causing apprehension are the conflict’s inflationary impact on prices of fuel and consumer goods, as well as the impact on the global economy as a whole.
Survey Results
Comparing responses from the three countries, the Philippines had the greatest proportion (99 per cent) who said they were “somewhat” or “very” concerned about the development of the Ukraine-Russia conflict, followed by Singapore (92 per cent). In Indonesia, 86 per cent shared this view.
When asked if they believe the conflict may “potentially escalate into the next world war”, 77 per cent of respondents from Singapore and the Philippines “strongly” or “somewhat” agreed. Among Indonesians, only a little over half (53 per cent) felt that way.
Singaporeans and Filipinos also expressed some degree of worry over the effects of the conflict on day-to-day living.
Of those from the Philippines, 83 per cent said the conflict has a “huge” or “some impact” on everyday life, and 63 per cent of Singaporean respondents shared this view.
But it was Singaporeans who were more concerned (81 per cent) about price increases of consumer goods, versus 63 per cent of Filipino respondents.
Additionally, the vast majority of respondents from Singapore (77 per cent) and the Philippines (75 per cent) said they admired the Ukrainian people for the resilience they’ve displayed amid the conflict.
Asked for their opinion on the Russian people, 69 per cent of Singaporean respondents said they “strongly or somewhat agree” that Russian citizens are unfair victims of the conflict because of the sanctions imposed on their country, while 61 per cent of Filipinos and 46 per cent of Indonesians shared this view.
The survey also found many of the respondents inclined to be generous toward the victims of the conflict, with 80 per cent of Filipino and 64 per cent of Indonesian respondents saying they had donated or are planning to donate to support Ukrainians. Among Singaporean respondents, only 41 per cent said they had done so or intended to do so.
Milieu Insight’s CEO and co-founder Gerald Ang told TISG: “The ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia has a far reaching global impact. Although South East Asia is on the opposite side of the world, we are already feeling its effects in more ways than one.
“This study aims to measure sentiments of people across Southeast Asia towards the conflict. The results reveal that the majority of people in South East Asia are supportive and empathetic towards those directly affected by the conflict, and have understandably negative sentiments towards the war.
While they show appreciation for the resilience shown by the Ukrainians during the conflict, they also feel Russian citizens are unfair victims of this conflict due to the sanctions imposed on them,”
/TISG
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