KUALA LUMPUR: The minimum wage is not determined by the Poverty Line Income (PLI), says Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Mohamad.
The Deputy Human Resources Minister said that the minimum wage is the basic salary for an individual to ensure that workers and their families can meet basic needs.
“The PLI refers to the absolute poverty of households,” he said, adding that the latest PLI rate, as of 2022, was RM2,589 per month.
However, he said PLI is one of the main indicators for determining the minimum wage.
Abdul Rahman was responding to a query from Hassan Abdul Karim (PH-Pasir Gudang) during minister's question time at the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday (Feb 25).
He said that the minimum wage has increased on average 5% to 6% per year, and this is dependent on the economic indicators used in the minimum wage setting formula.
He added that the minimum wage is periodically reviewed once every two years, with representatives from the Finance Ministry, Economy Ministry, Sarawak Economic Planning Unit, Sabah Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry and representatives from organisations like the Malaysian Employers Federation, trade unions and economic experts involved.
“The review process involves evaluating current economic indicators, and basic indicators like the PLI and median wages, as well as secondary indicators such as productivity, unemployment rates and the Consumer Price Index (CPI),” he said.
Since Feb 1, 4.37 million workers have benefited from the minimum wage increase from RM1,500 to RM1,700.
The adjustment applies for employers with five or more employees, and for those with less than five employees, the new wage rate will come into effect on Aug 1.
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