THE government hopes the private sector will cooperate in realising the progressive wage policy to parry the rising cost of living, said Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli.

He said the government needs a comprehensive policy for the private and public sectors as its priority is to bridge the significant gap between both sectors’ wage growth.

“When I talk about solving the problems of the country’s economic structure, it has to mean raising people’s wages … because the growth of people’s wages does not match the increase in the cost of goods. 

“Measures to solve the problem of commodity prices and inflation are already in progress, but if the salary does not grow regularly, (in tandem with the increase in the cost of living) it will not be resolved anytime soon,” he said after a Madani Tour programme at the Suka Menanti State Assembly area in Alor Setar today. 

Yesterday, the media reported the government agreed to review the civil service salary scheme, with a discussion due at the cabinet meeting next week.

The last salary review was in 2013.

Rafizi said the government can no longer manage the economy the old way – by only focusing on investments, because the rich will get richer while the wealth does not reach everyone else. 

“The main focus now is to address extreme poverty. We need to prioritise this issue first by creating more jobs in agriculture and through entrepreneurship. Our immediate attention is to address the issue of income,” he said. – Bernama, July 9, 2023.