PETALING JAYA: The new RM1,500 minimum wage will encourage more people to take up jobs and increase their purchasing power, say trade unions.

       Welcoming the move, they denied that it would only benefit foreign workers and said that locals were also affected by low wages.

       MTUC acting president Mohd Effendy Abdul Ghani said the new rate was competitive.

       “I think it is good for our economy because it can reduce the unemployment rate and encourage more people to work,” he said, adding that the increase in purchasing power would in turn spur economic growth.

       On the notion only foreign workers were likely to benefit from the move, Mohd Effendy said this was untrue as Malaysians were also affected by the low minimum wage.

       Calling for more details on the implementation, he said the government must specify whether the new rate would be in effect from May 1 or be gazetted on the said date.

       The National Union of Flight Attendants Malaysia (Nufam) secretariat said the new rate would help those joining the industry.

       “For those (new flight attendants) who will join the industry, it will (help),” said a spokesman, adding that some contract crew members earned only a basic salary of RM1,100. It is high time (the government increased the minimum wage) but we believe it can be higher.”

       Many Malaysians took to social media to argue that the new minimum wage was still insufficient, saying that this would not commensurate with rising living costs.

       One user, who goes by the handle brgsjks, tweeted that in the Klang Valley, even RM3,000 would still be insufficient to get by.

       “Every state in Malaysia has a different cost of living, which is why I strongly oppose the implementation of nationwide minimum wage and instead advocate for a state-by-state minimum wage.”

       Another Twitter user, RockyPillay, said the year was 2022 and not 2000, and that the minimum wage should be RM1,900 to RM2,000.

       “The wage rate should be in line with the size of the company,” tweeted BeepBoop80, adding that RM1,500 might be reasonable for small and medium enterprises.

       “I think Malaysia should look into tiered minimum wage. If the organisation is big, public listed, etc, the minimum wage shouldn’t be 1.5k (RM1,500). For SMEs (small and medium enterprises), maybe 1.5k is reasonable,” they said.