Malaysia is one of Asia's biggest employers of foreign labour. But recently, cases of deaths, abuse and forced labour have come to light. What is going on? Who is protecting these migrant workers?
BY ZAZALI MUSA
JOHOR BARU: Small and medium-sized industries are urging the Government to call off the new minimum wage scheme and let the market forces decide on the pay scale for employees.
The decision to impose the minimum wage should not be done for the sake of achieving a high income nation status, said SMI Association of Malaysia national president Teh Kee Sin (pic).
The wage, he said, should correspond with an employee’s productivity level.
He felt only those who were productive and contributing to the growth of a company should be duly rewarded.
“We are not against a high salary, but it should not be at our expense including the manufacturing cost which is getting higher every day,” said Teh.
He was asked to comment on reports that the new minimum wage of RM1,000 for the peninsula, RM900 for Sarawak and RM850 for Sabah and Labuan were likely to be implemented by year-end after Cabinet’s approval.
The current minimum wage is RM900 for the peninsula and RM800 for Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan implemented on Jan 1 last year.
“We have not fully recovered from the minimum wage imposed on Jan 1, and now we will have to bear additional costs with the new minimum wage,” said Teh.
He claimed that the National Wages Consultative Council did not consult with the industries and chambers of commerce before making their recommendations.
Johor Indian Business Association president P. Sivakumar said the Government should instead give incentives to the private sector to provide skills training for their workers.
Johor Lorry Operators Association president Anthony Tan said members were already paying their drivers between RM1,000 and RM1,200 as basic salary.
Source: THE STAR ONLINE
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