HR Minister: RM1,500 Minimum Wage to Be Done in Stages
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Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan told Dewan Rakyat today that the government will soon announce the revised minimum wage. However, he said the ministry would implement the new RM1,500 minimum monthly salary from RM1,2000 in stages.
Preventing companies from taking advantage
According to him, the government has in principle decided that the minimum wage in Malaysia should be raised to RM1,500. But, it is currently finalising the subject, including addressing existing issues before implementing the new minimum wage.
"We do not want companies to take advantage (of the increased minimum wage announcement) to reduce the number of employees. This will defeat its purpose while we are aiming to further reduce the country's unemployment rate from 4.2% to 4%," Saravanan said in reply to an additional question from Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim.
The minister ensured that the announcement on the revised minimum wage would be made soon, instead of at the end of the year, as earlier reported.
The minimum monthly salary in 57 cities and towns in this country is set at RM1,200 and RM1,100 for regions not considered part of the cities and towns.
Why the government is speeding up the new minimum wage
Previously, Saravanan said the government had received proposals by several groups to hasten the implementation of the increased minimum salary because of the current economic circumstances and growing costs of living.
He said the government would implement the new minimum wage after considering the people's needs and the employers' capabilities.
"The nation's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was reported at 3.6% in the fourth quarter of 2021.
"This growth was made feasible with the financial assistance by the government to the employers in assuring they were able to resume business operations and retain their workers," he stated in reply to a question from M. Kulasegaran.
Saravanan added that based on the 2022 Budget, Malaysia's economic growth for this year was projected at between 5.5% and 6.5%.
The minister said the government has agreed to speed up the implementation of the new minimum wage as the nation's economy has seen favourable growth, as many businesses are showing recoveries.
"The government stresses that the increment on the minimum wage should be done in stages.
"This is to ensure the sustainability of companies' operations and employees to be retained."
Saravanan said any drastic increase could impact Malaysia's competitiveness and affect the labour force that would face problems to produce highly-skilled new employment with quality.
Source: New Straits Times