-- ST PHOTO: AZIZ HUSSIN

A day after that, advertisements appeared in local newspapers and billboards went up telling Malaysians of the government's economic achievements.

A few days later, the latest glowing data on Malaysia's economic growth grabbed banner headlines in the newspapers.

The economy has shaped up to be one of the hottest issues in the campaign, as surveys throughout last year had predicted.

'Have your pockets shrunk?' is a common refrain at many opposition rallies as they seek to convince voters that the government has not done enough to alleviate the burden.

Even the usually reticent Chinese in urban Petaling Jaya cheered raucously at an opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP) rally last week when its candidate Mr Tony Pua lambasted the government for insisting that inflation was a mere 2.5 per cent.

The issue has become so big that Deputy Premier Najib Razak last week had to appease Malaysians who believed that the government would roll back petrol subsidies immediately after the election.

Mr Ibrahim Suffian, of the independent pollster Merdeka Centre, said recent surveys show that public attention remained focused on inflation and cost of living concerns.

'The opposition has been harping on this issue, and this has sharpened public perception of it,' he told The Straits Times.

He said that the BN's attempts to project confidence and competence in addressing these issues had not succeeded because people were still feeling the pinch.

The DAP has astutely taken advantage of bread-and-butter worries by issuing a manifesto promising hard cash to the poor.

Apart from the economy, the BN is also struggling to tackle the racial angst that has come to the fore in the most dramatic fashion since the election was called.

Umno sources say this has been a worry from the start and there is increasing concern that a racially polarised outcome would reinforce the perception that Malaysia's race relations were frayed.

'It's not good for the country, and investor confidence,' said a source close to Datuk Seri Najib.

Votes from the minorities have come under threat due to unhappiness over what they perceive as a stronger Malay agenda and Islamisation.

The BN's Chinese-based parties have been urging the community not to weaken their representation in government by voting opposition. Although the BN's Malaysian Chinese Association has insisted that the community is returning to the BN, Mr Suffian's surveys suggest otherwise.

He said they showed that the Chinese sentiments were still negative, and not much different from earlier polls showing that as many as 70 per cent would not mind voting opposition.

The Indian community has been more forceful, and Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) leaders have been forced to cancel events on police advice after they were heckled and jeered.

MIC president S. Samy Vellu, struggling for his political life, has distributed booklets to convince the Indians that the government hads not neglected them. Among other things, he said the government had given RM430 million (S$190 million) for the community from 2001 to 2010.

But it may be too little, too late to avert the loss of support.

Increasingly, several BN leaders and analysts have come round to a consensus that it may now be too late to win back these minority votes. The timing is also too delicate, especially for Umno leaders to be seen bending over backwards on this score.

There is some resentment among Malays over what they see as minority communities challenging Malay rights, especially the street protest led by Hindraf on Nov 25.

For instance, in Jerlun where Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir is standing, voters are not asking why the Indians are angry. They are asking why the government allowed Hindraf to lead a march on the streets.

Jerlun is in the Malay heartland of northern Kedah.

Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi and his deputy, Datuk Seri Najib, have focused their campaigning largely in the northern and eastern Malay belt.

Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah are the main focus. These predominantly Malay areas have a tradition of shifting to opposition Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) when they are unhappy with Umno.

Kelantan is the only state held by PAS, while Terengganu was retrieved by BN in 2004 after one term in PAS' hands.

BN's main component, the Malay-based Umno, is eager to pull Kelantan back into the fold to solidify Malay support. But sources within Umno admit privately that it may prove too difficult.

Neighbouring Terengganu could also prove to be problematic following Umno in-fighting after four out of eight division chiefs were dropped as candidates. The fear is that BN may even lose its two-thirds majority in the state.

Halfway through the campaign, the mood seems more subdued compared to the excitement in 2004 when a new Prime Minister was in charge.

But beneath the surface, the issues are no less intense.

carolynh@sph.com.sg