ECONOMY Minister Rafizi Ramli has a new formula to fight back against the rising cost of living and it is to get companies to increase the salaries of their employees.However, he also said the government needs a comprehensive policy involving the private and public sectors to act to bridge the significant gap between the growth of many people’s wages and the increase in the cost of living.“When Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and I discuss this issue, we are aware that everyone will have constraints whether it is on the government side or the private sector with employers including the media probably saying we don’t have money.“The constraint will be there forever, but at the same time we need to find a way to initiate steps to solve the problems faced by the people,” he said.The idea of salary increases may not go down well with employers but Rafizi hopes that the private sector can aid the government by committing to establish a mechanism for progressive salary increases in the face of issues related to the increase in the cost of living.Last week, Rafizi stated that the government does not rule out the possibility that the enforcement of the RM1,500 minimum wage for employers with fewer than five workers, which began on July 1, will have an impact on the country’s inflation rate.He added that the government had carried out the necessary assessment on the matter before deciding to enforce it.“The enforcement of minimum wage order comes with a risk (of inflation) but we (the government) always make sure that the increase in the wage rate can help balance the salary and the cost of living of the workers. That’s our focus.“The nature of the economy is such that there is always inflation. In fact, we hope to keep inflation at a healthy level of around 2%,” he noted. – July 9, 2023
