After years of serving as the nation’s economic majority, the Malaysian middle class or M40 is now losing ground.

Based on the Household Income and Basic Amenities Survey Report 2020 conducted by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), 20 percent of households from the M40 group have fallen into the B40 group due to the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The M40 income earners or the “new poor” are said to be hanging on by a thread and others even fall into poverty.