AT a time when 99 Speedmart had a great cause for celebration with its biggest initial public offering on the main market, a netizen on X wondered if all that value garnered came at a price.
Faiz syukri in a post inquired about the minimum salary that was paid to the employees of 99 Speedmart.
So berapa gaji minimum dia bayar pekerja kedai? 3k? 4k? Seminggu kerja 5 hari? 6 hari? Ada annual dinner? Ada bonus? Ada company trip? Ada work union? Tak guna jadi billionaire kalau tak mampu bagi ni semua dekat pekerja.
Done sembang benefit pekerja. https://t.co/uSw6u4h5sS
— faiz syukri (@moscawalter) September 9, 2024
What is the minimum salary paid to his staff? RM3,000? RM4,000? Five days or six days work per week? Are there any annual dinners, bonuses, company trips or worker’s unions?
He added that it was pointless to become a billionaire if one is unable to provide such benefits to their employees.
The heated post was in reply to Datuk Jahat Hensem who congratulated Lee Thiam Wah, founder of 99 Speedmart who became the newest billionaire in Malaysia following the company’s listing on Bursa.
According to Datuk Jahat Hensem, Lee now has a net worth of RM12.2bil, making him the eighth richest man in Malaysia.
The internet community, however, were not impressed by his affluent status.
Netizen Mariam said that it was not possible to reach billionaire status by being ethical. That is certainly an interesting statement worthy of debate and scrutiny.
Netizen minmin7171 said, whether it was favourable or not, Lim has created job opportunities to thousands of people. In the eyes of the staff, the company is always terrible.
minmin7171 suggested that if a higher salary is desired, then the worker should upskill and find another job.
He said it was not feasible to increase the pay of an employee to RM3,000 or RM4,000 just for taking care of the counter or putting things together.
Another netizen shared his experience working at 99 Speedmart HQ, stating that the management there was terrible.
Low salary and an astronomical employee turnover rate were the norm there. He claimed to work five and a half days with a low pay while during some public holidays, he had to work too without pay.
Now that Lim has achieved billionaire status, perhaps he can address the allegation of low salary and employee benefits, and make the corrections where necessary.
Meanwhile, readers looking to know more about the listing of 99 Speedmart on the main market can visit https://focusmalaysia.my/99-speed-mart-unveils-ipo-prospectus-malaysias-largest-ipo-by-market-cap-since-2017/ to find out more.
