KUALA LUMPUR – Putrajaya’s decision to push back the implementation of the RM1,500 minimum wage for companies with less than five employees was made after feedback from employers in several industries, said Human Resources Minister V. Sivakumar (Batu Gajah-PH).
Addressing the Dewan Rakyat today, Sivarasa said that the ministry had received 23 applications from various sectors and organisations requesting for a delay to the enforced minimum wage.
“The government’s call to suspend the minimum wage implementation from January 1 to July 1 for micro-enterprises was due, in part, to memoranda from numerous parties involved who said that they will have to bear additional burdens if the minimum wage is enforced.
“They also said that the minimum wage will affect their production and operation costs as well as the company’s overall services,” he said during question time for oral answers.
He added that the ministry hopes the delay will allow micro-businesses to stabilise their financial needs, which will help elevate their economic conditions.
Following Sivakumar’s announcement of the suspension on Monday, the Malaysian Employers Federation praised the move while thanking the ministry for listening to stakeholders.
Previously, all employers were supposed to begin to pay their staff salaries in accordance with the new minimum wage implemented from May 1 this year.
Meanwhile, Sivakumar also said that while suggestions for the nation to employ a progressive wage model are “good”, deeper studies will have to be conducted to align the concept with the country’s economic and employment situation.
“The government is also in the midst of analysing Bank Negara Malaysia’s analysis in 2018 which stated that the living wage for a single person should be RM2,700; for a couple, it should be RM4,500; and for a couple with two children, it should be RM6,500,” he said.
Sivakumar said this in response to a supplementary question by Datuk Awang Hashim (Pendang-PN) on why the government appears to not be considering upholding a progressive wage model in Malaysia.
Last week, the minister’s fellow DAP lawmaker M. Kulasegaran (Ipoh Barat-PH) had previously raised in the lower House the progressive wage model Pakatan Harapan was studying in 2018 during its time as federal government.
He also highlighted the coalition’s promise, as stated in its manifesto, to increase salaries by RM100 annually for those on minimum wage. – The Vibes, March 1, 2023
