Government to provide funds to increase employee salaries - PM

KUALA SELANGOR - The government plans to allocate funds to help riase the salaries of workers in Malaysia, in an effort to help ease the burden faced by the people, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

He said this matter was discussed at the Cabinet, after taking into consideration the situation where some companies that made profits of up to RM1 billion but their staff's wages remain stagnant.

"So, whatever decision we make, no matter how we talk about the cost of living and inflation is low, it still burdens the people. Therefore, we have made a proposal and it's at the final stages of the study. Since we can't force companies to increase workers' wages, we can use mechanisms like a minimum wage.

"I want to tell, we've come up with a surprising proposal that has never been thought of by the Perikatan Nasional (PN) schemers. What is it? We will provide a certain amount of money, say RM1 billion to RM2 billion, to find a way to increase (wages)," he said.

Anwar, who is also the Finance Minister, said the proposal would help raise workers' wages from RM2,000 to RM2,200, using the government-provided funds.

He mentioned this while delivering a speech at the Jelajah Perpaduan MADANI Grand Finale in Kuala Selangor at the Tapak Pasar Malam, Bestari Jaya, yesterday.

Meanwhile, Anwar said the government would be able to focus on national development if, the Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional can retain Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Pulau Pinang, and secure victories in one or two more states in the State Elections tomorrow.

"I am confident that if we can strengthen the Selangor government, win decisively in Negeri Sembilan and Pulau Pinang, and potentially make inroads in one or two other states, our country will be in the A league because we can focus on our nation's development.

"So, I hope my friends, we don't have much time left, please save us, don't be careless, this matter is about saving ourselves, our families, our state, and our country," he said.

The Election Commission has set tomorrow (Saturday) as the polling day for the State Elections in Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Pulau Pinang, Kedah, Terengganu, and Kelantan, with early polling taking place on Aug 8. - BERNAMA