Life has been hard for 58-year-old cabbie Salim Ibrahim, ever since ride-hailing services such as Grab and Uber snuffed the demand for taxis.

"I used to make RM70, RM80 a day but now even getting RM20 or RM30 is hard," Salim told Malaysiakini as he waited for customers at the Muar bus depot on Sunday.

With seven mouths to feed, having his earnings slashed has been made worse by the surging cost of living.

It's a tale heard across the country, but for Salim, who lives in Johor, the burden of rising costs is made more difficult by the state's water bills, which are the most expensive in the country.

"I pay about RM50 to RM60 a month... this is expensive. The water tariff should be lower, but since the tariff is already set, if we want to use the water we just have to pay or else we can't bathe," he lamented.

In Johor, the water rate has been fixed at 80 sen per cubic metre for the first 20 cubic metres, the highest rate in the country and 23 sen more than the Klang Valley rate. The cost increases significantly per cubic metre from there on.

Even professionals such as oil and gas executive Jimmy Azmi Harun feel that the rate is excessive.

"I didn't notice (the hike in tariff) at first, but sometime last year I noticed that it was really expensive," the 42-year-old said.

It is a situation that Johor Pakatan Harapan is seeking to capitalise on by throwing the people of Johor a free water lifeline, similar to what is being offered in Selangor.

"Water is free (in Selangor) but is water free in Muar?" asked Bersatu Youth chief Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman at a mini-ceramah in Sungai Pulai, with the crowd of 50 responding with a "No".

At another in Sungai Balang later that night, Kulai MP Teo Nie Ching pinned the blame for the high water tariff on the BN state government.

"Every month I pay RM50 for my water bill. Why? Because the water tariff in Johor is the most expensive in the country.

"Why should we support (menteri besar) Khaled Nordin anymore? We sell water to Singapore, to Malacca but Malacca's water tariff is lower than Johor's - so why should we support BN?" Teo said.

Other aid promises, too

The Johor government does, in fact, have a free water policy in place, footing the bill for the first 35 cubic meters for those in certain low-income groups.

For regular consumers, Johor charges 80 sen for the first 20 cubic metres, or RM16 in total, whereas this is free in Selangor for those with individual water meters.

For the next 15 cubic metres, the charge is RM2 per cubic metre in Johor and RM1.03 per cubic metre in Selangor.

Any further usage would result in a charge of RM3 and RM2 per cubic metre in Johor and Selangor respectively.

This means a household of five people that uses 30 cubic metres of water per month would be charged RM36 in Johor but only RM10.3 in Selangor.

For a bigger household that uses 50 cubic metres of water per month, the bill would come to RM93 in Johor and RM45.45 in Selangor.

Despite the high water tariff, not everyone in Johor finds the rate unbearable, though this is mostly those with smaller households.

Bus driver Hassan Mat Noor, 60, who lives just with his wife, says his water bill has never reached more than RM20 per month.

"For me, it is not expensive but some Johoreans do say it is pricey. It depends on the individual," he said.

Besides the promise of free water for all, Johor Harapan is also highlighting Selangor's aid for single mothers, funeral expenses aid and a medical subsidy as part of its election campaign, among others.

"My mother wants to move to Selangor, but I told her no, wait. Give victory to Harapan in Johor and we will bring this change here too," said Syed Saddiq, who is touted as Harapan's potential candidate for Muar.