MICRO enterprises and micro entrepreneurs are exempted from implementing the Minimum Wages Order (MWO) 2022 until year-end, according to Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister Noh Omar.

He said the MWO 2022 exemption was decided by the Cabinet, and while the term used is “micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs)”, it actually refers to micro entrepreneurs.

“This means any entrepreneur or firm with an annual sales turnover below RM300,000 and employing no more than five (full-time) workers,” the Tanjong Karang Member of Parliament said after officiating at the SK Sungai Burong Parent-Teacher Association general meeting in Tanjong Karang today.

However, Noh said, his ministry strongly encourages every micro entrepreneur to implement MWO 2022 in accordance with its enforcement effective May 1, 2022.

“If any micro entrepreneur can afford to pay based on the minimum wage, they are strongly encouraged to do so. We don’t want (to force) if the entrepreneurs cannot afford it.

“If micro entrepreneurs are just recovering and we force them to pay the minimum wage of RM1,500, I am concerned that they will feel pressured,” he added.

On Thursday, Deputy Human Resources Minister Awang Hashim said employers in the MSME group have been exempted from the implementation of MWO 2022 until the end of the year.

He said, employers involved in professional fields such as lawyers and doctors would still have to follow the stipulated minimum salary of RM1,500 for each employee, regardless of how many workers they have.

On April 27, the government gazetted the implementation of the minimum wage of RM1,500, which took effect on May 1, for employers who employ five or more employees as well as employers who carry out a professional activity classified under the Malaysia Standard Classification of Occupations 2020. – Bernama, May 14, 2022.