KUALA LUMPUR: The government should postpone the implementation of the minimum wage of RM1,500 for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME), a youth leader from a Pakatan Harapan component said today.
Calling the decision by the government “hasty”, Amanah Youth’s economy bureau director Ammar Atan said many employers are now feeling the pressure on their cash flow having to pay the minimum wage starting from this month.
He added that these SMEs were not given enough time to get ready.
“The minimum wage has been introduced when businesses have yet to recover from two years of the pandemic.
“That is why, employers who have issues with cash flow should not be burdened by the implementation of the minimum wage policy,” Ammar said in a media conference at Amanah headquarters here today.
He suggested the government only impose the minimum wage policy on sectors that were not affected by the pandemic, such as banking, glove makers, and technology services.
He said other sectors affected by the pandemic should maintain the previous minimum wage of RM1,200 with the government giving out an additional RM300 in cash aid to eligible SME workers for the next 12 months.
“Around 730,000 SME workers earn less than RM1,500. If the government injects RM300 a month for 12 months to these workers, that comes up to RM219 million per month,” he said.
Ammar said with the postponement and cash aid to these workers, employers would be able to expand their operations while preparing for the RM1,500 minimum wage to be fully implemented by mid-2023.
The minimum wage of RM1,500 took effect on May 1.
Currently, companies with less than five workers are exempted from this.
However, the new minimum wage will be in full force by the middle of 2023.
Source: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2022/05/23/postpone-minimum-wage-for-cash-strapped-smes-says-amanah/