A think tank survey found that Malaysians are more worried about the rising cost of living than the potential ‘green wave’ or the rise of extremism.
The Institute for Strategic Analysis and Policy Research (Insap) found that people are more worried about their ability to cover the cost of living in a situation of unstable income and increasing expenses.
It’s all because of the increase in the price of goods and food that is expected to happen in the next few months.
“Business owners have shown a decline in retail transactions and customer numbers. This raises concerns about their ability to pay loans and pay workers’ salaries because the majority of local customers are now reducing expenses,” Insap said in a statement today (Aug 2).
This follows a recent survey by a think tank involving 292 respondents from Selangor and Negeri Sembilan, when more than 80 percent demanded that measures to reduce the cost of living be implemented immediately.
It found that economic reform was the second biggest concern among citizens with over 65 percent of respondents placing it as their second priority.
Insap stated that this growing concern has caused many Malaysians to seem to have lost hope in the positive aspects of the economy as promised, especially in the Malay community.
“Although the survey showed that the majority of over 59 percent of respondents were satisfied with the current administration, satisfaction among Malay respondents in particular was much lower than Chinese and Indian respondents,” said Insap.
Insap added that only 35 percent of Malay respondents expressed satisfaction with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s governance and economic management, while 40 percent expressed dissatisfaction.
“This is due to insufficient government involvement in mainstream issues such as the cost of living which has worsened the impact on the economy,” it said.
