KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 2 — Malaysia’s long ruling Barisan Nasional coalition is in danger of losing Malay support when cost of living increases become unbearable for large sections of the majority race, Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders said today.

The government has not provided solutions to the economic problems faced by the core voter bank but has relied on “race rhetoric”, for support, PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli said, in the wake of a slump in prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’a approval ratings in key independent poll by Merdeka Center.

Crucially, Najib’s his ratings dropped to 58 per cent from 63 per cent among Malays.

“While they stomach these difficulties, they’ll come to a tipping point when they don’t care about race rhetoric because they’re suffering so much from whatever little’s left of their disposable incomes,” Rafizi told Malay Mail Online.

“Once they reach that tipping point, Umno will be in great danger,” the Pandan MP added.

According to the survey released by Merdeka Center, Najib’s overall approval rating fell from 54 per cent in August to 48 per cent in October, due to the recent fuel subsidy cut, which saw fuel pump prices for RON95 petrol and diesel increasing by 20 sen from October.

The poll also showed a decline in approval ratings among Indian respondents, dipping from 64 per cent to 52 per cent.

Support from the Chinese increased marginally from 22 per cent to 27 per cent.

Rafizi estimated inflation to rise to 5 per cent after the goods and services tax (GST) kicks in next April, which he said would double the rate of price increases.

“At 2.5 per cent inflation, a normal household will have to contend with about a RM50 price increase from one year to another. When it goes to 5 per cent, they’ll have to contend with a RM100 price increase... it’ll really eat up disposable income,” said the PKR secretary-general.

The opposition lawmaker predicted that a combination of price hikes and the government’s perceived failure to tackle corruption and financial mismanagement will anger the public.

DAP national political education director Liew Chin Tong said Najib’s popularity will be affected when both inflation and stagnation of the domestic market occur simultaneously, as the GST, a consumption tax, would cut the already small disposable income of the bottom 40 per cent that comprises mostly Malays.

“He’s lost the Chinese, he’s lost the Indians and he’s lost a substantial amount of the Malay middle-class. Now in Sabah and Sarawak, the sands are shifting. Talk to the locals and they say it’s no longer a 100 per cent vote bank,” Liew told Malay Mail Online.

“He’s banking on hard-core Malay support – the Melayu BR1M, but they’ll be exactly the group hurt by the petrol price hike,” he said, referring to the 1Malaysia People’s Aid (BR1M) government cash hand-out.

The Kluang MP said BR1M would only increase Najib’s approval rating temporarily, calling it a policy with “diminishing returns”.

PAS central committee member Khalid Samad said the rising cost of living was one of the major factors affecting the Najib administration’s popularity.

“Everyone understands BR1M is just a Panadol pill,” Khalid told Malay Mail Online.

“Malays are the ones worst hit by increasing prices – they’re the majority in the lower 40 per cent income bracket. BR1M doesn’t solve their problems. This is going to hit Najib’s Malay support, but it depends how Pakatan and PAS play it out,” the Shah Alam MP added.