Rafizi entitled to talk about what's good for the country, HR minister says

Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli has the right to state his view on what is good for the country although wage issues and policies are under the purview of the human resources ministry, its minister V Sivakumar says.

Sivakumar said the government was indeed studying the fairness of implementing the progressive wage model, with his ministry set to present the issue to the National Economic Action Council (NEAC) in August.

"The wage issue is indeed under the jurisdiction of the human resources ministry. Rafizi, as the minister of economy, has the right to state what is good for our country.

"In addition, we are both members of the NEAC. We will discuss what is the best mechanism for our country," he told reporters in Kepala Batas yesterday.

He was commenting on a statement by Malaysian Employers Federation president Syed Hussain Syed Husman, who said that Rafizi should share plans to spur the economy and not his plans for progressive wage increases which are handled by the human resources ministry.

Sivakumar said the government was also studying other salary models, apart from the current minimum wage policy.

"After the presentation, perhaps we will decide what’s next. We are looking into it, but we have not yet decided. Progressive wage is a good model but we need to look at it in a holistic manner," he said.