THE cabinet will raise the minimum wage to RM1,200 after talks with the National Wages Consultative Council (NWCC), said Human Resources Minister M. Kula Segaran, The Star reported.

“We are keeping to the roadmap of the government to reach a RM1,500 minimum wage, as promised within the first term of Pakatan Harapan as the government, and this is one way to do it.

“We realise the economy is not doing well and this is why we are not implementing it nationwide this time. We are only implementing it in 57 chosen major towns and cities,” Kulasegaran told The Star.

The minister said the towns were chosen after consultation and those who disagreed with the final list could write to his ministry.

The Star also reported disgruntlement among employers about the wage increase.

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2019/12/20/uproar-over-hike-in-minimum-wage

Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) president Soh Thian Lai told The Star the manner in which the 57 areas were chosen was ambiguous and unclear.

“The ministry should state the per capita income of the 57 towns,” he said.

Soh said areas like Jempol, Langkawi, Taiping, Manjung, Kemaman, Dungun, Kubang Pasu and Padawan should be properly defined before they were listed.

“The ministry should hold a consultation immediately with relevant stakeholders on the definition of the areas chosen and the method of implementation of the minimum wage,” he said.

The Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF), meanwhile, said that higher wages would only benefit foreign workers and did not help the local economy. 

“Most of these lower-end workers, whose wages are to be raised in line with this ruling, are foreign workers.

“We cannot discriminate between foreign and local workers, but the fact is most of them are foreigners.

“These foreign workers would only spend a bare minimum here and remit most of their wages to their home countries. How will this assist the local economy?” said MEF executive director Shamsuddin Bardan. – December 20, 2019.