RM1,200 minimum wage will be catastrophic to industries – FSI

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KOTA KINABALU: A minimum wage at RM1,200 will be catastrophic to the industries, said Federation of Sabah Industries (FSI) president Datuk Mohd Basri Abd Gafar.

Basri said FSI’s stance on minimum wage had always been to remain at the old rate of RM800 for Sabah.

“However the government has announced that it will increase the minimum wage for Sabah to RM920 effective July 1 this year and this has forced the industries with no choice but to brace for it.”

Basri said the industries in Sabah were already burdened with high costs of doing business in a very bad economic situation.

“The industries are trying very hard to innovate in order to reduce costs and survive.

“However a minimum wage at RM1,200 will be catastrophic to them.

“Let us follow the guidelines on the minimum wage that any increases will be gradual and after a detailed and comprehensive study, taking into consideration the cost of doing business, the costs of living and the prevailing economic situation with all the stakeholders,” he urged.

Basri was commenting on the new minimum wages and Democratic Action Party (DAP) secretary general Lim Guan Eng’s statement that the rising cost of living and the inflated prices of goods post-GST requires that minimum wages for all states in the country be fixed at RM1,200.

Effective July 1, the minimum wage will be increased from RM900 to RM1,000 in the peninsular and from RM800 to RM920 in Sabah and Sarawak.