STUDENTS hired as interns by companies should be entitled to a basic salary as they are required to perform the same duties as other ordinary workers, a political party and a business association said.

They said interns should receive a reasonable payment as they are also increasing a company’s productivity.

They said this in response to the Human Resources Ministry’s recent request to firms to consider other alternatives besides providing grants to help the interns who are mostly students.

“We feel that an intern should receive a salary. This is the concept that when you work, you should be paid (at least the minimum wage),” Parti Sosialis Malaysia secretary-general A. Sivarajan told The Malaysian Insight.

“Providing accommodation, food and transport in lieu of salary is not a concept of working. When an intern goes to a company, he or she is not going to class or to a lecture.

“No one in the company is going to give a lecture or teach, instead they are required to work, to do things other workers are doing.

“With or without an intern, someone has to do the work. If there’s no intern, a normal worker has to do the job and he is paid a salary. So when an intern does the job, why can’t he be paid a salary?”

Sivarajan said if the company is unable to pay interns, it should not hire them in the first place.

“Hiring an intern is not compulsory. If a company feels it can’t afford to hire one, then don’t,” he said.

Sivarajan revealed that PSM also accepts students as interns and they are paid up to RM1,200 per month.

“At PSM, we accept those who want to do internships with us. We are not a profit-making organisation, but we still pay them RM1,200 monthly,” he said.

“Before hiring, we will look at our ability on how many interns we can take.

“In some cases, we provide allowances, too.”

He also said companies should not pay interns too little.

“We don’t agree that companies pay interns RM900 a month. That is unacceptable,” he said.

‘Government should provide incentives’

Last week, Human Resources Minister V. Sivakumar requested companies to provide alternatives such as accommodation, food and transport that could reduce an intern’s burden.

Sivakumar agreed with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on the setting of allowances for interns.

He said the Human Resources Ministry would study the matter and take appropriate action, taking into account the views and needs of the parties involved, including trainees in the private sector.

The Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF), on the other hand, disagreed with PSM’s suggestion, saying it is up to the company to provide extra allowances.

Its president, Syed Hussain Syed Husman, suggested that the government provide incentives for companies that bear accommodation costs or transport for interns such as tax relief.

“MEF encourages employers to pay training allowances to industrial trainees at their discretion,” he said.

“MEF does not agree with the proposal to make it compulsory for firms to pay allowances and provide other facilities such as accommodation and transport allowances to trainees undergoing industrial training.

“Some companies do treat interns on a par with ordinary workers and in some cases, they get extra benefits. It is up to the company to decide.”

Johor Selatan SME Association adviser Teh Kee Sin said the government and the students’ place of education should bear responsibility in ensuring the interns are paid by their hiring companies.

He said instead of focusing on issues involving transport or allowances, the government must ensure that interns are able to grasp the knowledge after finishing their internship.

“They need to do an internship before graduating. They are still under the supervision of the government and their university. So when we talk about allowance or transport, the university or even the government should bear responsibility, instead of pushing it to the company concerned,” he said.

“The government should perhaps pay a sum for the internships. Especially for SMEs, the cost of running the business is increasing.

“If SMEs have to bear everything, they may decide not to hire interns at all.” – July 8, 2023.