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TAWAU: Tawau Chinese Chamber of Commerce (TCCC) President Chia Seong Fatt  (pic) urged the Government to carefully study the disadvantages of the minimum wage adjustment proposal as it will “crush” the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) if hastily implemented.

He was commenting on the proposal by the Human Resources Ministry recently that the minimum wage for Malaysian employees is expected to be officially raised to RM1,500 per month by the year end.

Chia said the country is currently in the recovery stage of the pandemic and coupled with the impact of the recent Omicron infection, it would affects businesses in all sectors.

“If the government insists on implementing the minimum wage adjustment policy, it will increase the burden on the SMEs, which will lead them to a wave of layoffs and even bankruptcy.”

According to him, the implementation of the minimum wage adjustment policy is mainly to improve the lives of the low-income group. But he he hoped the Government would consider the situation of the business operators, apart from taking care of the interests of employees.

“In the current era of inflation, I understand the plight of the low-income group….Hence, I hope the government can turn some non-emergency development funds into subsidies to assist the group,” he further expressed.