Reports by MARTIN CARVALHO, ASHLEY TANG and FATIMAH ZAINAL

       THE much-talked about RM1,500 minimum wage hike could materialise in the next month or two, the House was told.

       Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan said the Cabinet had discussed the issue in three consecutive meetings.

       “The Prime Minister and entire Cabinet remain committed towards its implementation. It may be in the next month or two,” he said in reply to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (PH-Port Dickson).

       Anwar had pressed for a specific date on the implementation of the increased minimum wage.

       Saravanan pointed out that he could not provide a specific date without first getting the mandate of the Cabinet, adding that the matter was in the final stages.

       “We want to make sure that employers will not exploit the situation to reduce their manpower by laying off workers once the minimum wage is implemented,” he added.

       The minister said there could be certain sectors in the economy that might be exempted from implementing the minimum wage hike for a period of about two years.

       He said unemployment had shrunk by 0.5% in the fourth quarter of 2021, to 4.3%, compared to the same period in 2020 which was at 4.8%.

       This meant that the unemployment figure fell from 760,700 to 696,400, he said.

       To further reduce unemployment, Saravanan said the Social Security Organisation (Socso) launched an employment and insurance incentive scheme to benefit an estimated 300,000 job seekers.

       Besides that, he said the government would continue with the apprenticeship and job guarantee scheme which has proven successful.

       Under the apprenticeship programme, he said bosses would be given a RM900 incentive for six months if they employed school leavers or graduates aged between 18 and 30 as executives.

       Those under the apprenticeship programme, he added, must be offered at least six months employment at a minimum salary of RM1,500.