Reveal salaries and perks of top personnel, Sime Darby told

Oil palm company Sime Darby Plantation Bhd has been told to acknowledge its corporate responsibility to uplift the socio-economic status of its employees, instead of voicing out against an increase in its workers’ minimum wage.

This is in the wake of a remark yesterday by Bakke Salleh, Sime Darby Plantation Bhd executive chairperson and managing director, that an implementation of a minimum wage of RM1,500 would increase the company’s production cost by nine percent.

Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) Penang branch secretary K Veeriah said the world's largest plantation enterprise cannot distance itself from the economic transformation of the working population, based on a consideration of its decline of profit margins.

"This company cannot divorce itself from the reality that the lowest segment of the citizenry is marginalised by the misplaced influx of migrant workers as a lucrative business model of those who were in power in the past," Veeriah said in a statement.

"We demand that Sime Darby Plantation Bhd makes public the salaries and perks that have been accorded to its corporate figures, including top management personnel, so that the people of this country can draw their own conclusions as to the fairness of wage parity of the top and bottom of employees of the company," he added.

"It is our view that the same disclosure would be imperative in respect of all government-linked companies (GLCs)," Veeriah stressed.

Veeriah said an online search of Bakke’s profile revealed that Bakke himself registered a commendable increase of profit of 93 percent up to March 31 this year for the company.

In absolute figures, the company's profits were reported as RM1.69 billion, noted Veeriah.

Meanwhile, Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) said the people are also concerned about the company's "sky-high" salaries and perks for its directors.

PSM treasurer Sivarajan Arumugam claimed that in 2012, Sime Darby had paid its directors and top management staff bonuses ranging from 12 to 14 months.

Citing a report in Free Malaysia Today, Sivarajan said Sime Darby's non-executive director Musa Hitam was paid RM822,000 in 2012, while the salary of Bakke was RM5.24 million.

Sivarajan urged the new Pakatan Harapan government to study the matter as Sime Darby, despite being a private enterprise, is indirectly linked to the federal administration.

He pointed out that 31.6 percent of Sime Darby Berhad is owned by Permodalan Nasional Berhad and 11 percent by the Employees Provident Fund.

"Doesn't a government-linked company have the responsibility to assist the government to upgrade the lives of the people, to eradicate poverty by increasing the minimum wage?" Sivarajan asked.

"Who makes the decision in these GLCs to award their own directors 12 to 14 month bonus but complain about paying their workers, who are the reason for their wealth, a RM1,500 minimum wage?".

Sivarajan called for the attitude and direction of GLCs like Sime Darby to be reformed by the Harapan government.

"Let them function properly as a corporate wing of the government which will share their wealth with the Malaysian people," he said. - Mkini