Living on less than RM1000 a month is tricky business indeed so in the interest of curiosity, this article will attempt to look into the lives of minimum wage workers to determine how they survive in Malaysia.
There has been and will continue to be a lot of talk about minimum wage recently due to the enforcement of the new ruling in January 2014. The minimum monthly income was set at RM900 for peninsular Malaysia and RM800 for east Malaysia.
The announcement has been met with mixed reviews thus far, with several Malaysians arguing that the amount is insufficient, considering the recent surge in the cost of living. Conversely, some Malaysians feel that the law decreases the competitiveness of the nation’s industries while doing more to benefit foreign laborers rather than locals. Some business heads also lamented that it would in turn force them to raise prices even more.