The minimum wage structure offered to Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan is yet another 'discriminatory step against Sabahans", says Jeffrey Kitingan.
KOTA KINABALU: What was the logic used behind the government’s decision to fix a lower minimum wage for Sabah and Sarawak when the locals here face higher cost of living compared to their brethrens in the peninsula?
Under the newly introduced minimum wage policy, workers in Sabah, Labuan and Sarawak will earn a minimum of RM800 a month or RM3.85 an hour. The policy is to take effect six months from the date the minimum wage order is gazetted.
How this matches up to Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s much-touted “high income” earning agenda is anyone’s guess, but Sabahans are simply not happy.
The RM800 minimum wage is “lower” than Sabah’s poverty line and Najib’s pledge to adjust the minimum wage structure in the two states “within the next two to three years” to bring it on par with Peninsular Malaysia is not going down well with the masses here.
Describing the quantum as an “insult”, Sabah STAR chairman Jeffrey Kitingan said it was an inversion of the economic realities of the Peninsula and Sabah.
“There are at least two things wrong about the minimum wage announced by the prime minister.
“First of all, the minimum wage for Sabah should be higher than the Peninsula simply because Sabah’s cost of living is much higher than the Peninsula’s, in part due to the cabotage policy.”
He said that the cost of living in Sabah is about 30% to 40% higher than the Peninsula’s and the minimum wage should reflect this differential, rather than inverting it.
“Secondly, the minimum wage should be higher than the poverty line, otherwise those receiving the minimum wage would still be considered poor.”
He said that the poverty line in Sabah is around RM800 per month, hence the proposed minimum wage hardly saves the workers from poverty, and it will be worse for those who are sole breadwinners in a family.
“We can see clearly that Sabah is losing twice on this proposed minimum wage which is supposed to help solve our economic problems,” he said, adding that the BN government was again taking a “discriminatory step against Sabahans”.
ia akan menjadi satu perkara yang amat baik jika kerajaan persekutuan dapat meluluskan dan menyelaraskan gaji minimum ini di seluruh negera
ReplyDeleteharap ada perkembangan dijangka lewat tahun ini...
ReplyDeleteIni sudah tentunya boleh membantu meningkatkan taraf perkhidmatan dan motivasi para pekerja awam
ReplyDeleteMari kita tunggu dan lihat bagaimana lancar ia akan pergi dalam masa setengah tahun ini
ReplyDeleteGaji minimum akan dilaksanakan mula awal tahun depan. mungkin masih ramai lagi majikan yang belum bersedia dengan pembaharuan ini.
Deletegaji minimum ini tidak akan kekal statik, semoga ia terus meningkat dalam tahap tertentu...
ReplyDeleteKerajaan akan mengkaji kadar gaji minimum ni dari masa ke semasa untuk pastikan ia sentiasa di atas garis kemiskinan negara.
DeleteI hope the government could revise the minimum wage in sabah, sarawak and labuan.Shouldn't it be the same as peninsular malaysia?
ReplyDeletenevertheless, there must be a good reason to why the min wage are lower than in peninsular malaysia and i hope the government could provide us the explanation.
DeleteSepatutnya harga barang di Sabah juga lebih rendahlah berbanding SM kalau begitu.
Deletemmg RM800 sebulan belum dpt melepasi tahap kos hidup di Sabahm tapi ia sekurangnya dpt meringankan beban pekerja kerana sebelum ini tahap gaji di Sabah amat rendah hingga ada mencecah RM300 sebulan.
ReplyDeleteApapun, penambahbaikan untuk dasar gaji minimum pekerja swasta pada masa-masa akan datang, mungkin boleh dipertimbangkan dan diselaraskan mengikut peringkat dan pencapaian (kelulusan) masing-masing.
DeleteKenapa perlu bimbang kalau gaji minima 800 atau 900? kalau kita rajin berusaha, 8,000 atau 9,000 mungkin dalam tangan. Yang bimbang gaji minima rendah mungkin mereka yang kurang rajin. Jadi.... tambahkan usaha.
ReplyDelete