‘Sabah employers seek to be heard’

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah businesses have to be ready for the revision in minimum wage given that this was a promise made by the new administration before the election, said Sabah Employers Association (SEA) president Yap Cheen Boon.

Nonetheless, he said, the economic discrepancies between West and East Malaysia must be equalised first before bridging the minimum wage gap.

He stressed the importance of understanding Sabah small and medium enterprises’ ( SMEs) ability to shoulder the increase and the market implications arising thereafter.

Yap said this when asked to comment on the new minimum salary for the private sector which will be announced by August.

Pakatan Harapan has pledged to set the minimum wage at RM1,500 across Peninsular, Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan in its election manifesto. At present, the minimum wage is RM1,000 in West Malaysia and RM 20 for Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan.

“Whether or not this quantum has been consulted with Sabah employers is debatable, as to date only one dialogue session had been held by the technical committee representatives with both employers and employees in January 2018, with no update of information since,” Yap said when asked if a minimum wage of RM1,500 would be acceptable to employers.

As expounded by SEA before, he said what was more critical was that the economic discrepancies between West and East Malaysia must be equalised first; before bridging the minimum wage gap.

“The quantum pales in terms of importance to understanding first Sabah SMEs’ ability to shoulder the rise, and the market implications arising thereafter.

“It is crucial to note most of Sabah SMEs are still micro in nature, employing less than five employees, and struggling under the economic environment.”

He said Sabah employers could sustain the minimum wage at any equalised rate with West Malaysia’s counterparts, as long as we shared the same logistical linkage efficiency, utilities’ supply stability, land use parity, sustainable market size and density.

“It would appear that there are still a lot of catching up to do on these parameters.”

On whether SEA will provide feedback or memorandum to the National Wage Legislative Technical Committee, Yap said the association had been proactively seeking to engage with the committee since day one. — Bernama