Nothing wrong with Rafizi speaking on wage policy, says Sivakumar

 

Human resources minister V Sivakumar said economy minister Rafizi Ramli had the right to talk about what was good for the country’s economy.

KEPALA BATAS: Economy minister Rafizi Ramli has the right to speak on any policy related to the national economy and that includes those regarding wages, human resources minister V Sivakumar said.

In defending his Cabinet colleague, Sivakumar said both he and Rafizi were members of the National Economic Action Council (MTEN) where they would discuss the best wage model for the country.

Sivakumar was responding to Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) CEO Syed Hussain Syed Husman taking issue with Rafizi’s announcement of plans to increase wages progressively in the private and public sectors.

Syed Hussain said it was not within the purview of the economy ministry but that of the human resources ministry to handle wage-related policies.

Sivakumar said while the committee that looked into the wages was under the human resources ministry, Rafizi had the right as the economy minister to talk about “what is good for our national economy”.

“So that is not an issue,” Sivakumar told reporters during a visit to the Institut Latihan Perindustrian campus here.

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