PUTRAJAYA: Steven Sim says he will work to lift the dignity of all workers in Malaysia, irrespective of race or religion.
The new Human Resources Minister, who replaced V. Sivakumar in the Cabinet reshuffle on Tuesday, said his ministry would always stand together with workers.
Questions had been raised about his appointment as the four of the last five human resource ministers since 2018 had been ethnic Indians.
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Some politicians, including former Penang deputy chief minister II P. Ramasamy, had argued that the post should have been given to a Tamil-speaking Indian.
Sim, who was previously the deputy finance minister, said the fate of employers and workers was interlinked and was not about egos. He told Bernama that if workers are not protected then it will affect the company in terms of productivity.
“In an era of restructuring the economy under the Malaysia Madani framework, the focus is generally on the development of skills, worker welfare and productivity,” he said after clocking in to mark his official start at the ministry yesterday.
He arrived at the ministry at about 1.15pm and was greeted by ministry staff.
Also clocking in was Deputy Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Mohamad, who was previously the deputy works minister.
Sim said that he, Abdul Rahman and the ministry’s staff would begin to study plans for the future. — Bernama
