SINGAPORE — A senior Democratic Action Party (DAP) leader yesterday accused Putrajaya of not doing enough to deal with problems associated with the cost of living.

DAP lawmaker Liew Chin Tong said the cost of living has affected Malaysians living in both urban and semi-urban areas but this issue has not been resolved by the government.

“Domestic consumption over the past two years has declined due to the depreciating ringgit and the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). This is a major problem because income did not (see) an increase,” he told TODAY after delivering a lecture at the Iseas-Yusof Ishak Institute on the current political scenario in Malaysia and its challenges.

Mr Liew, who is also the Kluang Member of Parliament, said with unpopular economic decisions such as the GST and cuts in subsidies for essential items, Malaysian society is now facing problems. “I think Umno has yet to deal with the cost of living issue effectively,” he said referring to the United Malays National Organisation.

Kluang is a constituency in Johor. Mr Liew — one of the chief strategists for DAP — has been credited for the party’s strong showing in the southern state during the last general election. The opposition party won four parliamentary and 13 state seats in Johor during the 2013 general elections, an increase over one parliamentary and four state seats during the 2008 general elections.

Mr Liew said Malays would not necessarily vote along racial lines in the next general election, expected to be held this year. He added that unless the Umno deals with bread-and-butter issues, it will encounter discontent even in its traditional vote banks.

“The Malay grassroots are thinking like other people, especially when it comes to economic challenges. They suffer (like others) when it comes to problems associated with the cost of living and falling ringgit,” he said.

Earlier in his lecture, the lawmaker noted that in the 2008 and 2013 general elections, the Malays who voted for the opposition were mostly urban voters. But today, discontent for the ruling party can also be felt among civil servants and even Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) settlers.

Felda settlers are the majority voters in at least 54 of the 222 seats in the Parliament, and have helped bring the Umno-led Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition to power in every election since independence in 1957.

Putrajaya has introduced the 1Malaysia People’s Aid (BR1M) programme to help ease the rising cost of living. The programme provides cash assistance to lower and middle-income households. Some seven million recipients will benefit from BR1M this year.

Prime Minister Najib Razak has been embroiled in a financial scandal involving state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). He has battled calls to step down for more than a year and denied any wrongdoing. Mr Najib has consolidated power by cracking down on dissent, including sacking his deputy, Mr Muhyiddin Yassin.

There were earlier signs that Umno was warming up to Islamist party, Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS). Mr Najib had initially backed a controversial Bill tabled by PAS to amend the Syariah courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965, with some observers saying it was an attempt to win votes from the rural heartlands.

But the move resulted in strained ties with Umno’s non-Muslim partners, who are concerned it will enable hudud laws to be implemented in Malaysia.

The prime minister said last month that the ruling coalition will not be tabling amendments to the Act, following a discussion among its 13 component parties. The Bill was allowed to be tabled in Parliament last week, but the debate was deferred hours later.

Asked if the Bill was a form of diversion, Mr Liew said: “It is a major form of distraction on pressing issues. It was meant to distract people from the financial scandal and cost of living. Umno and PAS want this to dominate the conversation, but we know that this is not the actual conversation that ordinary Malaysians want to talk about.”