Najib vulnerable on rising costs as election looms

Kuala Lumpur

MALAYSIA'S 1.6 million public servants have long been one of the most reliable vote banks for Prime Minister Najib Razak's ruling coalition, but as he prepares to seek re-election he faces warnings that soaring living costs risk eroding that support.

Prices have risen sharply since Malaysia cut state subsidies and launched a national goods and services (GST) tax to plug a hole in its finances caused by falling oil and gas revenues, and rank-and-file government workers say they are feeling the pinch. "My wife earns some side income doing freelance work, but we just can't save," said 28-year-old Mohd Nizam, who has supported Najib's United Malays National Organisation (Umno) in the past but, like around a dozen public sector workers who spoke to Reuters, did not want to say if he would do so again. "I don't know how we'll manage if we have a child," said Mr Nizam, who rides a motorcycle to work each day in the administrative capital Putrajaya, where he earns RM3,000 (S$969) a month as a government clerk.