Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak announced bonuses for the 40,000 employees of national oil firm Petronas on Tuesday, signalling a long wait for a general election is nearly over as he seeks last-minute support from the middle class.
In recent days, Najib has expanded a slew of handouts to include thousands of workers at state-linked firms, underlining the government's ability to try to win support through its close control of Malaysia's biggest companies.