The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) today warned that it would be impossible for Malaysia to achieve a high-income nation status by the Year 2020, unless the national minimum wage is increased annually by RM1,000 from this year onwards.

From July 1, the minimum wage will range from RM920 to RM1,000.

MTUC secretary-general N Gopal Kishnam said this was based on figures quoted by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak in his speech to launch the National Transformation Programme 2015 last week.

“Based on the figures, the average monthly income per person is about RM3,000. To reach a high-income nation status, the average must be raised to at least RM5,000.

“So definitely we can’t achieve the target,” he said.

In his speech, Najib had said that the national per capita income has increased from RM28,000 in 2010 to over RM36,000 last year.

Gopal Kishnam, however, noted how studies have shown that 65 percent of Malaysian families are living on a monthly household income of approximately RM3,500.

"An annual increment of between three per cent and five per cent does not commensurate with the 20 percent to 30 percent increase in cost of living," said Gopal Kishnam during his speech at MTUC's annual May Day Rally at its headquarters in Subang Jaya this morning.

"The government has also announced developments of affordable homes priced at up to RM400,000…a worker will need to earn approximately RM10,000 a month to afford monthly instalments on a 90 percent loan for such houses,” he said.

On the new minimum wage effective July 1, Gopal Kishnam said MTUC is standing by its demand that all workers should receive a minimum wage of RM1,200.

“It is good that they (the government) have abolished the guideline on implementation of minimum wage. There is also no difference between foreign and local workers.

“But at the same time, we (MTUC) are still demanding for RM1,200 as the minimum wage for all workers,” he stressed.

In unveiling Budget 2016 last year, Najib had announced that the minimum wage in peninsular Malaysia will go up from RM900 to RM1,000, while the minimum wage in Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan will go up from RM800 to RM920.

The minimum wage for civil servants will also go up to RM1,200, while minimum pension will be RM950.

Other union leaders who took to the stage included acting MTUC president Abdullah Sani Abdul Hamid, former MTUC president Syed Shahir Syed Mohamud and former MTUC secretary-general Halim Mansor.

The MTUC May Day rally - launched by Selangor Menteri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali - saw participation from some 200 workers representing member unions, including the National Union of Flight Attendants Malaysia (NUFAM), National Union of Bank Employees, as well as the National Union of Transport Equipment and Allied Industries Workers.