TMJ wants Johor to have own minimum wage rate

PETALING JAYA: Johor Crown Prince Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim has asked the state government to review the minimum wage of civil servants in Johor and to raise it to suit the times and current economic conditions.

He said he believed the people of Johor deserved better and was given to understand that the state government could determine its own minimum wage.

“I hope that the state government of Johor stands firm in ensuring the welfare of workers is well taken care of, especially the civil servants,” Tunku Ismail, who is better known as Tengku Mahkota Johor (TMJ), said in a Facebook post.

Tunku Ismail said he had asked Menteri Besar Osman Sapian to also look at the possibility of implementing a minimum wage scheme statewide to benefit the people.

“My priority is to protect the interests of the rakyat and to be fair,” he said.

Recently, Human Resources Minister M Kulasegaran said the country could only afford to raise the minimum wage to RM1,050.

Saying it was a “painful” decision, Kulasegaran said the government’s decision to raise the minimum wage to RM1,050 monthly was based on a review of the economic growth and financial situation in the country.

Workers’ unions had criticised the quantum of increase, saying an RM50 hike in Peninsular Malaysia was meaningless.

The current minimum wage for Peninsular Malaysia is RM1,000 while for Sabah and Sarawak, it is at RM920.

The new minimum wage of RM1,050 for the private sector takes effect nationwide from Jan 1 next year.

Source: FMT