Mahathir is Malaysia's most admired man - YouGov study

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has again topped the list as the country's most admired man, according to YouGov’s annual study of which public figures people look up to.

The results, which were based on 1,075 Malaysians surveyed by the British market research firm, saw Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, the first Malaysian astronaut, in second place after the 94-year-old prime minister.

Another notable Malaysian in the top ten is recently retired badminton player Lee Chong Wei in sixth place.

Technology billionaire entrepreneurs make up a significant part of the list.

Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates is in fourth place, Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma in fifth and Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg in ninth.

Politicians also fared well in the top ten with former US president Barack Obama in eighth place and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 10th.

The top-ten list of most admired men is completed with Hong Kong martial arts actor Jackie Chan in third place and Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo in seventh.

Singer Siti Nurhaliza is Malaysia’s most admired woman for the second year running, followed by Mahathir's wife, Dr Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali.

Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail is in third place.

The list of Malaysian females is completed with entrepreneur and the co-founder of FashionValet and The dUCk Group Vivy Yusof in seventh place.

Talk show host Oprah Winfrey comes in fourth, Hollywood actresses Angelina Jolie and Emma Watson in fifth and sixth, respectively, and American singer Taylor Swift in 10th.

The list is rounded up with former US first lady Michelle Obama in eighth place and Queen Elizabeth II in ninth.

In December, YouGov gathered open-ended nominations from panellists across 41 countries, asking them simply: “Thinking about people alive in the world today, which man or woman do you most admire?”

These nominations were then used to compile a list of the 20 men and 20 women who received the most nominations and were nominated in at least four countries.

An additional 10 popular local figures were added to the lists for individual countries.

- Bernama