KOTA KINABALU: The Federation of Sabah Manufacturers (FSM) has urged the government to give more time to allow for an in-depth study to be conducted before implementing a minimum wage system in the state.
Its president Datuk Wong Khen Thau said it was important that the authority did not rush the matter so that a fair minimum wage could be arrived at for the benefit of both the employers and workers.
For this purpose, he said the federation and trade chambers in Sabah, together with professional associations and other industry players were calling for greater involvement and engagement in the deliberation of the proposed minimum wages.
“We are not against the proposal, in fact we do believe it is important to have a minimum salary for the industry, but we don’t just want to have minimum wages, we want fair wages,” he said.
He was speaking at the FSM Nite on Friday. The event was officiated by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman.
The government had recently announced that a national minimum wage will be implemented in stages, including in Sabah. Employers were however kept guessing over the minimum pay for their sectors, worried that it may be set beyond their ability to pay.
Meanwhile, on a separate issue, Wong proposed Sabah to set up a logistic council to lead efforts towards making Sabah a logistic hub.
He suggested the council should be chaired by the ministry of infrastructure development as it would focus on, among others, upgrading and developing the required infrastructures for achieving the status.
“Sabah infrastructure contributes to a significant extent to the high cost of doing business in Sabah. There must be a special mechanism set up to monitor the unilateral decision on cost of transportation whether by sea, air or land,” he said.
On another issue, he said FSM felt that employees should not have to retire at age 60 as proposed by the government but should be given the option to choose whether to stay or retire at 55.
He said employers should be allowed the flexibility to retain employees who wished to continue working for as long as they are productive.