Tan shares the blame, says Dapsy
Published on: Tuesday, June 21, 2016
Kota Kinabalu: DAP Socialist Youth (Dapsy) said while it agrees with Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Raymond Tan that Sabah workers ought to get higher pay, he should be held responsible for the State's inability to do so."I believe this situation happens because we cannot attract people with talent and expertise to work here, let alone develop Sabah as a skills-based economic State," Dapsy National Public Policy Bureau Director, Phoong Jin Zhe, said in a statement."With the ever increasing living costs in Kota Kinabalu, it is high time the Government came out with its initiative to ensure wages are paid fairly and reasonably."
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Phoong, who is also DAP Sabah Publicity Secretary, reminded Tan to play an aggressive role since he is also the Industrial Development Minister to ensure Sabah has comprehensive economic development which eventually brings benefit to workers."It is undeniable that Sabah has a lot of talents but unfortunately they prefer to migrate elsewhere simply because Sabah cannot provide future for them. "I just came back from Australia. Many of my friends who are planning to migrate there told me that low wage is one of the main factors," he said.There is a need for the government to take up initiatives which are crucial to ensure Sabah has a competitive salary and skills-based economy.
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Phoong said it is high time for the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) government to come out with the initiative to ensure wages are paid fairly and reasonably in the State capital.He said the Government must encourage companies to initiate industrial upgrading in the State, reduce reliance on foreign workers and use advanced technology as well as skills to help businesses to upgrade. He said it is crucial to go through this process from a labour-based economy to knowledge-based economy or skills-based economy.
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"I appreciate that Tan is willing to point out a fact that Sabah's workers have relatively low wages which caused Sabah's weak competitiveness."If only he had performed better as the Industrial Minister uplifting our manufacturing sectors, he said workers would have gotten higher salary decades back."I would like to highlight that Sabah has serious income inequality problem. Part of the factors is because of its low wage environment. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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