The Penang Malays Congress feels that the minimum wage will not be enough for married workers.
GEORGE TOWN: The new national minimum wage that combines basic pay with fixed allowance will only be enough for bachelors and not for married workers, according to a Malay NGO .
Penang Malays Congress president Rahmad Isahak said: “We find the new minimum wage would only be enough for unmarried workers, not the married ones.”
He urged the government to review and improve the minimum wage package for workers to match the current high cost of living.
He said in a statement that the federal government owed a social responsibility to assist citizens working in the private sector enjoy a sustainable living standard.
Last week, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak announced monthly minimum wages of RM900 for workers in Peninsular Malaysia and RM800 for those in Sabah and Sarawak.
The minimum wage package included basic salary and fixed allowance.
MTUC Penang chapter secretary K Veeriah has criticised the minimum wage because it does not address the fundamental objective of reducing poverty.
MTUC’s original demand was for the federal government to fix the minimum basic salary for any employee at RM900 plus another RM300 for cost of living allowance (Cola), making it RM1,200 minimum wage per person “to give an employee breathing space amidst the rapidly rising cost of living”.
But Veeriah said RM900 would not be enough for an employee to enjoy a decent living standard, especially in major urban centres such as the Klang Valley, Penang and Johor Baru.
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