‘RM1,500 minimum wage needed to attract locals’
JOHOR BARU: The minimum wage needs to be increased to RM1,500 to attract local workers, said state Consumerism, Human Resources and Unity Committee chairman Dr S. Ramakrishnan.
He said to do so, the government needed to take into account the rising cost of living.
“The minimum wage issue is serious. We hope the Federal Government will increase the minimum wage to RM1,500.
“However, the government only agreed to increase it to RM1,050.
“The increase was minimal compared with the people’s high hopes in the matter.”
He was commenting on the minimum wage implemented for the peninsula, Sabah and Sarawak.
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad recently announced the new minimum wage, which was set at RM1,050 per month or RM5.05 per hour.
The new minimum wage scheme will be enforced on Jan 1.
Ramakrishnan said failure to do increase the minimum wage would see locals shying away from jobs.
“At the same time, it will result in dependency on foreign workers as we are unable to attract locals.”
He said by increasing the minimum wage, it could motivate workers to boost their skills, as seen in Singapore, which had increased wages for its citizens.
He said if the minimum wage was not increased, people would blame the government for the economic condition.