Human Resource Minister M Kula Segaran has defended the decision to increase the minimum wage next year to RM1,100, saying it is not against the National Wage Consultative Council Act 2012.
He said the government had consulted all parties and stakeholders about the minimum wage proposal before making any decision.
“I am happy the large segment of society is happy that the minimum wage is RM1,100,” he said.
He said while the law states the minimum wage as RM1,050, the Cabinet can review the amount.
“The unions also say the figure is fair and reasonable,” he told reporters at a Deepavali gathering organised by the Social Security Organisation (Socso).
Earlier, the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) said it was unhappy with the wage proposal announced by Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng during the tabling of Budget 2019.
On Sept 5, Putrajaya announced that a standardised minimum wage of RM1,050 be implemented nationwide from January 2019.
After workers protested against the minimum wage quantum set at RM1,050 monthly, the government raised it to RM1,100 starting January 1 next year.
The current minimum wage is RM1,000 in Peninsular Malaysia and RM920 in Sarawak and Sabah.
Pakatan Harapan had pledged in its 2018 election manifesto to implement a minimum wage set at RM1,500 monthly.