PARTI Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) urged the Government to impose additional taxes on the ultra-rich individuals and companies to cross-subside the move to raise minimum wage to RM1,500.
“There must be no compromise in raising the minimum wage across the board but we also understand that some small and medium enterprises (SME) need help to meet the new regulation.
“There are many ways to do it such as by taxing the ultra-rich individuals and companies to cross-subsidise SMEs that need help.
“But I’m sure the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) will object to such levies like Wealth Tax and Capitals Gains Tax,” its deputy chairperson S Arutchelvan said in a statement.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that the Government would raise the minimum wage to RM1,500, come May 1.
However, the decision has received objections from several employers, with the MEF urging the Government to delay its implementation as many micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are still struggling to survive the fallout of the pandemic.
“Generally, the MSMEs are still grappling with the efforts to recover their businesses due to the devastating impacts of COVID-19 and the big floods in late December 2021.
“The decision to postpone the RM1,500 minimum wage implementation will make them more sustainable and more resilient.
“MEF hopes that the Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M Saravanan, and the Entrepreneur Development and Cooperative Minister Tan Sri Noh Omar, will consult stakeholders on the mechanisms to allow the MSMEs to postpone the implementation of the RM1,500 minimum wage,” MEF president Datuk Dr Syed Hussain Syed Husman was reported as saying on March 21 by The Edge.
Why not cap CEO, directors’ pay?
Cynical over MEF’s objections, Arutchelvan said that if the employers’ group was really concerned about their struggling businesses, the latter should consider capping the salaries of their top management executives.
“But I doubt they will do such a thing. Their only strategy in keeping costs down is by suppressing wages of their ordinary workers.
“In essence, increasing minimum wage of ordinary workers is not really the issue but putting a ceiling on their top executives’ earnings should be the way,” he mentioned.
According GINI coefficient index, the PSM leader said that Malaysia’s CEOs earn the second highest amount of wages in Southeast Asia, with many of them getting over RM100,000 a month.
The GINI coefficient index is a measure of statistical dispersion intended to study income inequality within a nation or a social group.
Arutchelvan remarked: “With the Government allowing another round of withdrawals from the Employers Provident Fund (EPF), which is reckless, perhaps increasing the minimum wage by another RM300 can be considered a small way from the Government rebuild workers’ retirement savings.” – March 26, 2022
