The government is planning to provide funds to help raise the salaries of employees in Malaysia in an effort to ease the burden faced by the people, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
He said the matter had been discussed at the cabinet after taking into account that there were companies that made over RM1 billion in profit but their workers’ wages were still not increased.
“We said that no matter what, with the cost of living and even with low inflation, the people are still burdened.
“Therefore, we have made a proposal and it is in the final stages of being studied. We cannot force companies to raise workers’ wages, but we can implement mechanisms such as the minimum wage.
“We have come up with a surprising proposal that has never been thought of by Perikatan Nasional. What is it? We will provide a sum of money, maybe RM1 billion to RM2 billion, and find ways to raise wages.
Anwar, who is also the finance minister, said for example, the proposal would help raise workers’ wages from RM2,000 to RM2,200 from funds provided by the government.
He was speaking at the Jelajah Perpaduan Madani Grand Finale in Kuala Selangor last night.
Meanwhile, Anwar said the government would be able to better focus on national development if the Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional alliance could defend Selangor, Negri Sembilan, and Penang in the state elections this Saturday, as well as gain an extra one or two states.
“I am confident that if we can strengthen the Selangor government and win in style in Negri Sembilan and Penang, we are also able to penetrate one or two other states. (The country) we will be in class A because we can focus on development.
“So I hope my friends, since we don’t have much time left – please save us, don’t be careless. This is about saving ourselves, our family, our state and saving our country,” he said.
The Election Commission has set August 12 as polling day for the elections in Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Penang, Kedah, Terengganu and Kelantan while early voting was carried out on August 8.
