PETALING JAYA: The minimum wage must be quickly implemented so that the people can cope with rising inflation, said MTUC president Mohd Khalid Atan.

He said MTUC recommended to the Government RM900 as minimum wage and RM300 as hardship allowance 11 years ago.

“Some have even asked for RM1,500 as minimum wage to reflect the current cost of living. The Government cannot just say be prepared for the rise in prices and not understand workers' situation,” he said, adding that 35% of the population still earned RM700 a month below the national poverty level of RM720.

Mohd Khalid was responding to Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin's warning for Malaysians to be mentally prepared for an increase in prices of various products due to a rise in oil prices and reduction in food supply caused by changes in the global climate.

He said although employers often used the excuse that salaries should commensurate with productivity, Malaysians' productivity level was decent although there was room for improvement.

He said enforcement agencies should also be serious in controlling profiteering which could dampen spending and the economy.

Fomca secretary-general Muhammad Sha'ani Abdullah said the Government should provide a safety net following the subsidy rationalisation.

“The funds saved from subsidies should be used to lighten the people's burden by channelling more to social services, education, healthcare and public transport,” he said.

The Government, added Muhammad Sha'ani, should provide for more public universities instead of privatising education and burdening the people with loans.

He also said that funds should be pumped into all public transport operations to ensure that they were punctual and efficient.

Single Mothers Entrepreneurs Association chairman Latifah Abdul Rahman said poor single mothers were finding it hard to make ends meet.

She said she had appealed to the Government to come up with a special market for over one million single mothers to sell their products or provide them with job opportunities.

She also said that people could save money by cooking and eating healthily at home instead of eating out.

“A family could spend RM100 a day eating out but the RM100 could be used for home-cooked food for at least three days,” she said.

By LOH FOON FONG
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