Press Statement By Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng In Kuala Lumpur On 8.5.2012.
BN Setting The Minimum Monthly Wage Of RM900 In Peninsular Malaysia And RM800 In Sabah And Sarawak Is Not The Right Thing To Do Is Wrong As It Is Below The Poverty Line Indicator(PLI) For Sabah & Sarawak.
Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Najib Tun Razak’s announcement of a floor wage for the private sector at RM900 per month for workers in the Peninsular and RM800 per month for those in Sabah and Sarawak as the “right thing to do”, is wrong as it is blow the poverty line for Sabah & Sarawak. Whilst DAP agrees with Najib that getting the correct balance between guaranteeing workers a decent wage and employers’ needs, BN must have lost it sense of balance to fix the minimum monthly wage below the PLI of RM830 per month for Sarawak and RM960 per month for Sabah.(9th Malaysia Plan)
Najib should sack his senior economic advisors if he still believes that the minimum monthly wage had considered factors proposed by the World Bank such as cost of living, the poverty line index and unemployment rate. With productivity rising by 6.7 per cent annually but real wages going up by just 2.6 per cent each year, BN’s proposed minimum monthly wage is grossly insufficient as it is lower than Pakatan Rakyat’s RM 1,100 minimum take-home pay every month, which is inclusive of all fixed allowances but excluding over-time payments.
BN Federal Government’s minimum monthly wage of RM 900 in Peninsular Malaysia and RM 800 in Sabah and Sarawak is insufficient as it is not only discriminatory against workers but demonstrates a glaring lack of commitment by BN to reduce poverty when it is far below the poverty line for East Malaysia.
This is becase the cost of living in Sabah and Sarawak is much higher compared to the Peninsular, which has a PLI of RM720 per month. In other words, even if the RM800 per month minimum wage is implemented in Sabah and Sarawak, it will still be far below the PLI as defined by the Malaysian Government.
In addition to the proposed PR minimum wage of RM1,100 that will be able to meet the basic needs of workers across the country, we must also be aware that Malaysia is fast-becoming an indebted nation where families spend everything and beyond what they earn. For example, Bank Negara’s Annual Report 2010 revealed that Malaysia’s household debt at the end of 2010 was RM 581 billion or 76 per cent of GDP, thus giving us the dubious honour of having the second-highest level of household debt in Asia, after South Korea.
In addition, the Malaysian household debt service ratio stood at 47.8 per cent in 2010, meaning that nearly half of the average family’s income goes to repaying debts. As a rule, banks would not lend money to those whose total servicing of loans exceeded one third of their income. In other words, we are spiralling into an indebted nation.
Thus, even a minimum wage is not enough without two important considerations. Firstly, the minimum wage quantum must be indexed to the Consumer Price Index, so that it is adjusted with the rate of inflation. This will ensure that standard of living and quality of life will be protected and maintained.
Secondly, increasing the livelihood of Malaysians also requires an holistic economic strategy that is targetted at raising disposable income. In other words, we need to put more money into people’s pockets. However, this cannot be done just by setting a minimum wage. In the larger picture, we have to address the influx of unskilled foreign workers and their wage-suppressing effect, upgrade skills and productivity of our local workforce and also increase the participation of women in the workforce.
Besides that, the government must also invest in key sectors such as public transport, housing and healthcare. If cost of living is lower, disposable income will automatically increase. This concept is very simple – if it costs less to commute, buy a house and pay medical bills, then everyone will have more money. Imagine if every Malaysian had just RM10 extra every day, the economic multiplier effect will result in RM280 million extra circulating in the economy every day. That is no small amount. In other words, if we can increase the purchasing power of our people especially the lower income groups with a meaningful minimum monthly wage of RM1,100 inclusive of allowances, we will be able to increase domestic demand and create a healthier economy for all Malaysians.
LIM GUAN ENG
—–Mandarin Version—-
槟州首席部长林冠英于2012年5月8日在吉隆坡发表声明：
国阵联邦政府制定的马来半岛每月最低薪资900令吉以及沙巴、砂拉越两州每月最低薪资800令吉是不正确的，因为这个最低薪资远远不及东马的贫穷水平线。
首相拿督斯里敦拉萨宣布说马来半岛每月最低薪资900令吉以及沙巴、砂拉越两州每月最低薪资800令吉是“正确的事”，这是不确实的，因为这个最低薪资远远不及东马的贫穷水平线。民主行动党同意，纳吉试图在保障工人合理薪资及雇主的需要之间取得平衡点，但是，把最低薪资设定在砂州贫穷线830令吉及沙巴州贫穷线960令吉（大马第九计划）之下，国阵肯定是失去了平衡点。
纳吉如果相信每月最低薪金已经考虑了世界银行所建议的生活水平、贫穷线及失业率，他应该革除他的经济顾问。随着生产率每年上升6.7%，而工资每年上升2.6%，国阵的最低薪资是不足够的，它比民联的1100令吉扣税后实得工资还低。这包括所有固定津贴，但是不包括超时工资。
国阵联邦政府制定的马来半岛每月最低薪资900令吉以及沙巴、砂拉越两州每月最低薪资800令吉是不足够的，因为这不只是对工人的歧视，也显示国阵没有诚意扫除贫穷，因为这个最低薪资远远不及东马的贫穷水平线。
这是因为这两个州属的生活水平比马来半岛还高，马来半岛的贫穷线为每月720令吉。换句话说，就算在沙砂两州推行每月800令吉最低薪资，它还是远远不及马来西亚政府订下的贫穷水平线。
除了民联所提议的最低薪资1100令吉能够满足全国工人的基本需求，我们也要了解到，马来西亚已经快速成为举债国，几乎每个家庭的花费都超出他们所赚的。例如，2010年国家银行年度报告指出，马来西亚的家庭债务在2010年底是5810亿令吉或占国民生产总值的76%，让我们成为亚洲继韩国之后，家庭债务第二高的国家。
此外，我国的家庭债务偿债比率在2010年为47.8%， 意味着每个家庭平均有一半的收入是用来还债的。一般上，银行不会借钱给那些债务超过收入三分之一的人士。换句话说，我们正渐渐成为过度举债的国家。
因此，如果不考虑两个要素，单单拥有最低薪资是不够的。第一、最低薪资必须能够反映消费人指数。因此它必须依据通膨率调整。这才能够确保这项政策有助于保障及维持人民的生活水平及素质。
第二，随着马来西亚人民生活的提升，我们必须推出全方位的经济政策，以提高可支配收入为目标。换句话说，我们需要把钱放入人民的口袋。但是，这不能 只是单靠制定最低薪资。长远来说，我们必须解决无技能外劳涌入以及他们压低工资的影响。我们必须提升本地员工的技能及生产力、同时增加女性在工作的参与此外，政府也必须投资在关键领域如公共交通、房屋及保健。如果生活水平降低、可支配收入自然会增加。这个概念很简单，如果人民在交通、房屋及医药方面的花 费减少，那么每个人自然会有多一点钱。让我们想像，如果每个马来西亚人每天都多花10令吉，每天将会有额外的2亿8000万令吉在流通，产生经济倍增效 应。这不是一笔小数目。如果我们可以通过1100令吉最低薪金（包含各种津贴）增加人民的购买能力，特别是低收入群，我们将能够创造内需，为全民打造更健康的经济。
林冠英