Disgruntled $16-a-Day Earners Could Decide Malaysian PM's Fate
- Residents in Kuala Lumpur getting by on less than minimum wage
- Bread-and-butter issues set to determine next election
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In Malaysia’s capital, a banana fritter seller fastens helmets on his two children and helps them onto his motorcycle. A third child stays with a school bag on the footpath outside their flat. He’ll need to wait for his father to come back.
Mohd Ezam Mohd Said, 55, makes two trips to send his children to school each morning, and another two trips at noon to pick them up. "I can’t afford a car. I can’t even afford to eat chicken more than once a week," Ezam said at his stall in Kuala Lumpur, where he earns 20 ringgit ($4.65) a day.