PETALING JAYA: Security guard providers are urging the government to reconsider or halt plans to increase the minimum wage to RM1,500 or many will be forced to close their business.

       “The time is not yet right and if it proceeds, many will go bankrupt,” said Security Industry Association of Malaysia (PIKM) president Datuk Seri Ramli Yusuff.

       “Many members would be forced to close their business due to rising costs if the wage gets raised to RM1,500.

       “It’s not as simple as a RM300 increase because many other costs need to be taken into consideration such as overtime

       “Our calculation shows that if the wage increase goes through, we would have to pay an average of RM3,300 per security guard when you add in EPF and Sosco,” he said at a press conference on Wednesday (Feb 9).

       Ramli also said many members had contracts with the government and had yet to receive their full payments since the last wage increase.

       “We don’t have the exact figure but it is worth millions. The contract negotiation started before the wage was increased to RM1,200 and many of us had to pay the difference to our staff upfront before we even saw the revised fees years later,” he claimed.

       With the proposed hike, PIKM estimated that they would have to charge at least RM11 per hour to break even.

       Ramli added that PIKM members would be willing to pay the proposed wage increase but their customers - private and government - would have to agree with the jump in cost.

       “With the pandemic affecting so many businesses, many won’t even go near that figure. They will start using illegal companies that operate with illegal workers.

       “We have also provided employment for over 100,000 workers locally. If employers start closing shop, employees will also be affected,” he said.

       Previously, Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan said that a minimum wage of around RM1,500 would be implemented by the end of the year.