KUALA LUMPUR — Budget 2025, to be tabled on Oct 18, will focus on improving income levels in addition to addressing inflation, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said.
Anwar noted that while the prices of goods such as edible oil, petrol and flour are relatively cheaper in Malaysia compared to regional peers, there remains a need to focus on improving income levels.
“The level of income has not increased, (amidst) an increase in productivity or investments.
“We must address this issue; that is what I have done with the civil service. We raised civil servants’ salaries, which have been largely ignored for the last 12 years,” Bernama reporting him saying in a CNBC interview.
Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, tied concerns about living costs to salary levels and hinted that private companies should do more.
“You must take care of your own workers. Then you can apply moral suasion to the private sector conglomerates.
“(For instance), if you register profits of between RM1 billion and RM4 billion, you cannot (justify) paying your workers in that manner.
“So I think there should be some pressure to increase income levels because, although there are concerns about prices, it is because of low wages,” he said.
The recent salary adjustment for the civil service saw a 15% increase for those working in the implementation, management and professional groups, and a 7% increase for those in top management.
This is the first salary adjustment in 12 years and is a timely response to current economic conditions, Anwar said.
For the private sector, the government aiming to raise salaries through the Progressive Wage Policy, which underwent a pioneer phase with a selected number of companies who joined voluntarily, from June to August.
The policy incentivises employers to raise wages for workers earning between RM1,500 to RM4,999, while ensuring the salary increments are in line with skills and productivity.
Private companies qualify for the incentives if they comply with the starting salaries on a scale set by the government.
The policy is to be fully implemented this month following the end of the three-month pilot phase. – October 5, 2024