T HE 2016 Budget gave to the B40 group ” those households with a monthly income of RM3,000 and less” a well-deserved leg up by increasing the minimum wage from RM900 to RM1,000 in the peninsula, and for those in Sabah and Sarawak, the current RM800 floor is being raised to RM920. For this act of social justice, that will end the callous exploitation of the countrys most vulnerable workers, the government is being roundly criticised by the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF). Citing that it would cost private sector employers an additional RM3.6 billion annually, it sought to deprecate the move as benefitting over two million foreigners who will be repatriating their windfall. The inference is that this will do nothing for the countrys economy but increase the cost of production.
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