Despite rising wages and declining poverty rates, many households in Malaysia’s Klang Valley continue to face significant financial pressure, according to a recent study. The research, titled “Urban Squeeze: Raising the Floor for Economic Security and Mobility in Malaysia,” was jointly conducted by the South-East Asian Futures Initiative Centre (Seafic) and the MySDG Centre for Social Inclusion (MySDG-CSI). It found that unpredictable expenses related to food, transportation, and utilities place some families within a month of financial crisis.
The study was based on a focus group convened in August, involving 15 participants from the B40 and M40 income brackets. These included fresh graduates, heads of households, single working mothers, gig workers, and senior citizens from the Klang Valley area. Participants reported that while rent and loan repayments could generally be planned, erratic costs associated with public transport, utilities, and food presented ongoing challenges.
Where public transportation was unreliable, some workers bore additional expenses by running private vehicles, while younger workers sometimes resorted to buy-now-pay-later schemes to manage their finances. The study also highlighted mismatches between educational qualifications and employment, with fresh graduates often taking jobs outside their fields at salaries ranging from RM2,000 to RM2,500. The high cost of professional certifications—between RM5,000 and RM20,000—was cited as a barrier to career advancement.
Many participants depended on gig work, which, despite offering flexible income opportunities, made it difficult to demonstrate stable earnings—a critical factor when applying for home loans. On the issue of food, respondents emphasized not just the availability of meals, but access to nutritious options. They noted that staples like sardines and mackerel had become less affordable, and some gig workers, including drivers, reported enduring long hours without meals during shifts.
The report acknowledged existing government assistance programs such as Sara and Jualan Rahmah as helpful foundations but suggested expanding food aid to prioritize nutrition by enhancing access to fresh produce and wet-market products. Seafic chairman Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz remarked that the challenge ahead lies in enabling families to plan their finances confidently rather than merely coping with immediate pressures. He stressed the need for systems that account for the realities of daily life, including financial institutions recognizing gig incomes and reliable public transportation services.
The study proposed four areas for policy attention: reforming credit-scoring systems to better assess gig and variable earnings; creating more affordable paths to professional certification; designing nutrition-focused food assistance programs; and integrating housing and transport planning to ensure affordable homes are situated near dependable public transit.
Researchers emphasized that this qualitative study serves as a diagnostic complement to existing quantitative data, aiming to capture the nuanced pressures and trade-offs experienced by households that may not be reflected in broad national indicators. The report also recommended involving affected communities in the testing phase of any new policies to ensure their relevance and effectiveness.