KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 2,000 primary school students in six states in the country are without a birth certificate, Human Resource Minister Datuk Dr S Subramaniam said.
However, he said, efforts were being made by the ministry, with the cooperation of the Education Ministry, to resolve the problem, adding that the number was obtained from reports from Perlis, Kedah, Pahang, Johor, Sarawak and Sabah.
“We will look for their parents to find out why their children do not have birth certificates and will look into ways of solving the problem,” he told reporters at a 1Malaysia Community programme at SRJK (T) Puchong, Batu 14, Puchong near here yesterday.
On the enforcement of the minimum wage for security guards, Dr Subramaniam said action would be taken against employers who failed to adhere to the ruling by June this year.
He said that the Manpower Department had been tasked to look into the matter.
The new wage, ranging from RM500 to RM700, took effect on Feb 15 this year.
On the demands, which included the minimum wage, by the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC), Dr Subramaniam said the government was looking into the matter.
Sunday, in conjunction with Labour Day, MTUC made six demands to the government.
They are for the government to implement the RM900 a month as minimum wage, reduce compulsory working hours from 48 to 40 a week, increase retirement age to 60, set retirement age benefit at a month’s salary for every year served, abolish the contract workers and to ensure a safe working environment, as well as the setting up of child care centres at work place.
Meanwhile, in a statement yesterday, Dr Subramaniam expressed his disappointment on the staging of a demonstration on Labour day yesterday by the opposition over the minimum wage issue.
He said there was no need for such a demonstration as the government had given many opportunities to engage with all parties to discuss the matter.
The government, he said, had from the start, felt it was appropriate to engage with all parties in discussing the minimum wage.
“We held a public seminar and started a minimum wage blog for the public to give their views on this issue.
“Recently the ministry organised an interactive session with a wide spectrum of people, including the NGOs, members of Parliament from both sides and gave them opportunities to express their views,” he added.
Dr Subramaniam said the government had embarked on a process to positively consider the minimum wage and to put the mechanisms for its implementation in place.
Sunday, 18 people were detained for participating in an unlawful assembly, held in conjunction with Labour day, at Jalan Chow Kit and in front of the Maju Junction shopping centre. — Bernama