Raising wages and curbing inflation — a balancing act - video Dailymotion

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The government hopes to give salaries a boost but this must come with a  rise in productivity to prevent a rise in the cost of living for consumers.   Read More:  https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2025/01/15/raising-wages-and-curbing-inflation-a-balancing-act/   Laporan Lanjut:  https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/bahasa/tempatan/2025/01/15/capai-keseimbangan-antara-naik-gaji-bendung-inflasi/   Free Malaysia Today is an independent, bi-lingual news portal with a focus on Malaysian current affairs.    Subscribe to our channel - http://bit.ly/2Qo08ry   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Check us out at https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com  Follow FMT on Facebook: https://bit.ly/49JJoo5  Follow FMT on Dailymotion: https://bit.ly/2WGITHM  Follow FMT on X: https://bit.ly/48zARSW  Follow FMT on Instagram: https://bit.ly/48Cq76h  Follow FMT on TikTok : https://bit.ly/3uKuQFp  Follow FMT Berita on TikTok: https://bit.ly/48vpnQG  Follow FMT Telegram - https://bit.ly/42VyzMX  Follow FMT LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/42YytEb  Follow FMT Lifestyle on Instagram: https://bit.ly/42WrsUj  Follow FMT on WhatsApp: https://bit.ly/49GMbxW  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Download FMT News App:  Google Play – http://bit.ly/2YSuV46  App Store – https://apple.co/2HNH7gZ  Huawei AppGallery - https://bit.ly/2D2OpNP   #FMTBusiness #Inflation #SME

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00:0010,908 ringgit. That is how much a nurse working in Singapore can potentially earn in a month.

00:06It is also about 4.4 times more than what the same job pays in Malaysia. Because of this pay gap,

00:13at least 1.86 million Malaysians have moved abroad in pursuit of a career with better wages

00:19in the last 50 years. This means that an average of 37,200 highly skilled Malaysians make the

00:26cautious decision to uproot their lives in search of better opportunities every year, proving once

00:31again that Malaysia is facing a serious spring drain. The federal government is well aware of

00:36this persisting issue and it is actively trying to change things around. When tabling the budget

00:412025 in the Dewan Rakyat, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced that the minimum wage would

00:46be bumped up from 1,500 ringgit to 1,700 ringgit per month starting next February. It might not

00:53seem much for some, but for the 600,000 Malaysians who earn 1,500 ringgit or less, the additional

00:59200 ringgit per month can make a huge difference. This could mean that they now have the means to

01:04save up for the future, enjoy better meals, or even indulge in simple pleasures like going to

01:09the movies. But raising the minimum wage does not come without challenges. Employers now must find

01:16ways to meet the hike in labor costs and at the same time ensure that there is an increase in

01:21productivity. Without improving efficiency, businesses may have no choice but to increase

01:26their prices to offset the costs, further fueling the ever-warring trend of inflation. Putrajaya

01:33has allocated millions under the 2025 budget to prevent this exact scenario from happening.

01:39For instance, 400 million ringgit has been set aside for SMEs looking to adopt digitalization

01:44or automation in their operations. Additionally, the government is offering tax incentives and

01:50matching funds of up to 100 million ringgit to local vendors in high-growth, high-value sectors.

01:55There's no doubt that the minimum wage should be reviewed regularly to reflect the current

02:00economic conditions. The real question is whether local companies can strike a balance between

02:05increasing salaries and enhancing productivity to avoid contributing to the cost of living crisis.

02:11Natasha Biest, FMT News.

Raising wages and curbing inflation — a balancing act

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