For BN, time to harvest support grown from aid

People queue up to collect their BR1M vouchers in Kepong. — File picKUALA LUMPUR, April 17 — Barisan Nasional (BN) may soon reap the rewards from targeting aid directly at lower-income households and small-medium business concerns in the coming general election, The Straits Times reported today.

According to the Singapore daily, cash incentives such as the two rounds of RM500 BR1M cash handouts as well as moves to facilitate the businesses of small traders and groups such as taxi drivers may increase support for the ruling coalition now heading to its most challenging electoral contest.

“We were persuaded to apply by a local MIC leader,” S. Purutsotman told the daily when describing his participation in the government’s Automotive Workshop Modernisation (ATOM) initiative launched in 2011.

“We appreciate their help. That’s what a government should do for its people.”

Another such programme is the “Tukar” initiative, which Putrajaya started in collaboration with hypermarket operator Tesco, to modernise sundry stores and make them more competitive.

Such efforts are among attempts by the BN coalition to tackle everyday issues facing the lives of average citizens, but are often drowned by the frenzied racial and political rhetoric that is fodder for news.

But while such efforts may not be getting front page attention, they do have opposition politicians concerned.

DAP national publicity secretary Tony Pua told the newspaper that while urban voters may not be as influenced by these programmes and aid such as the RM500 BR1M — which BN is promising to raise to RM1,200 annually — those in rural areas may see them as a “godsend” and vote accordingly.

RAM Holdings chief economist Yeah Kim Leng also pointed out that although inflation in Malaysia remains low ― the consumer price index averaged 1.6 per cent last year ― low-income groups in urban areas are still finding it tough to cope with the cost of living.

The BR1M had increased Najib’s approval ratings to 69 per cent, according to pollsters Merdeka Center in 2010, largely due to a surge among lower-income households.

But there is growing concern over the financial toll such cash handouts and aid programmes could mean for the country’s coffers.

PKR’s Rafizi Ramli asserted earlier this month that the annual BR1M alone would cost taxpayers as much as RM11 billion a year by 2023.

In October, the Wall Street Journal had criticised Najib for choosing handouts over reforms, saying the tact would do nothing to advance Malaysia’s economy.

“Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has unveiled a budget full of freebies designed to win over voters in the next general election, expected in the next six months. In the process, he is dashing expectations of economic reforms needed to promote growth,” WSJ said.

“This combination of temporary handouts and tax breaks on one hand and welfare spending on the other doesn’t help Malaysia’s competitiveness.”

Some 13.3 million voters are eligible to cast their ballots in what has been touted will be Malaysia’s closest-ever general election this May 5.