Anwar Ibrahim, the prime minister of Malaysia, has urged privately owned companies that have achieved sizable profits to follow the government’s lead in upgrading employee pay structures, as outlined in the 2024 budget proposal.
Anwar, who is also the finance minister, noted the concerns voiced by workers in the private sector who complained that their pay had not increased despite high earnings from their employers during his monthly meeting with staff of the Prime Minister’s Department.
“I hope that the private sector, especially those who report good profits, takes up this signal given by the government to recognise civil servants,” added Anwar. “Give a fair wage increase considering the current conditions.”
The government’s decision to examine the Public Service Remuneration System (SSPA) and extend an incentive of RM2,000 (US$422.61) for specific tiers of civil officials and below echoed Anwar’s appeal for fair compensation adjustments.
The announcement of the incentive was taken aback by senior government officials such as Zuki Ali, the Chief Secretary to the Government of Malaysia.
There hasn’t been a review like this in the past ten years as no one deemed it possible. This is due to the current financial constraints and even the finance ministry did not propose such an amount.
Consultation will be done to all the pertinent ministries and sectors will be consulted during the full examination.
By completing the evaluation by the middle of 2024, he hoped to make “significant announcements in the 2025 budget.”
