CAIRO: An Egyptian opinion poll made the Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC) reveals 47 percent of Egyptians do not feel safe at current times, while 32 percent feel safe and 18 percent feel safe only to a certain degree. The chairman of IDSC, Hani Mahmoud said around 71 percent of Egyptians said the presence of police in the streets decreased. 94 percent said it's necessary for citizens to cooperate with the police to settle the security issues of Egypt. Approximately 41 percent blamed police officers for deteriorating relationship between citizens and the police, while 30 percent said citizens are mainly responsible for the bad relationship. 11 percent said the former Minister of Interior is responsible for this negative relationship. Mahmoud said the people haven't had any confidence in governmental administrations for a long time. He noted all opinion polls created in the past by IDSC were not affected by any governmental pressure to change certain results. Egypt's situation after the January 25 Revolution requires examining all studies concerning Egypt's future, said Mahmoud. According to Mahmoud, an opinion poll on the gas crisis showed 81 percent of gas users agreed on what the Minister of Social Solidarity proposed. The minister suggested using a coupon system to buy a container at 5 EGP (U.S. $0.84) from the warehouse and 7 EGP (U.S. $1.17) if delivered to homes. The proposal also included providing more gas in case bigger families run out of gas. However, this will be more expensive. Mahmoud said there aren't any red lines with issues that IDSC will tackle soon despite being related to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF). He denied reports claiming there are lawsuits against IDSC for financial violations. Mahmoud showed several surveys upon request from the former government concerning minimum wage, the costs for economic scenarios, and developing a role for the consumer protection agency. The chief of IDSC's information department said economic indications after the revolution are optimistic for the future. However, in the last three months the citizens were not optimistic due to instant economic deterioration. They later realized, however, reform and development will gradually take place in several years, and so the government should take into account all political, social and economic policies, the chief said. The head of IDSC's opinion poll, Sahar Amar said polls show citizens priorities are safety, national unity and getting rid of corruption. He said increasing wages was the least of their priorities. Arabic here
