Minimum wage: unsubstantiated statements by Chua Tee Yong and Chua Soi Lek

Media statement by Liew Chin Tong, DAP MP for Bukit Bendera, on Sunday 7th October 2012

Minimum wage: unsubstantiated statements by Chua Tee Yong and Chua Soi Lek

MCA President Dr Chua Soi Lek and his son Deputy Agriculture Minister Chua Tee Yong should debate economic policies with facts and sound arguments and not make silly and unsubstantiated statements.

The latest case being about Pakatan Rakyat’s policy of RM1,100 minimum wage.

Yesterday, Tee Yong claimed that Pakatan Rakyat’s offer of RM1,100 minimum wage will increase the country’s debt and burden Malaysians.

Tee Yong alleged that if each of the three million foreign workers receive RM200 more per month under a Pakatan Rakyat Federal Government, “it would translate to an additional RM600mil monthly of RM7.2bil a year,” which, according to him, will be an outflow as it will be remitted.

Today, Tee Yong’s father Chua Soi Lek ups the ante and suggested that the so-called “outflow” would work out to RM900mil every month and RM10.8bil per annum, on the assumption that each worker is paid at RM800 now and would be paid RM1,100 under a Pakatan Rakyat Government.

In fact, we at Pakatan Rakyat are calling for meaningful fundamental reforms to the Malaysian economy.

Minimum wage is but one of the many reforms needed to move the Malaysian economy from the middle income trap to a high income nation.

Pakatan Rakyat is of the view that the minimum wage policy cannot be implemented in isolation.

Minimum wage must be complemented with a commitment to reduce the number of foreign unskilled labour, to assist the industries and businesses to automate and upgrade both in technology and skills.

It is hypocritical of the duo to talk about “outflow” of national income to foreigners when Barisan Nasional had allowed uncontrolled influx of unskilled foreign labour for the past decades.

Pakatan Rakyat is also committed to abolish monopolies which will be more costly to the nation at the expense of the man on the street.

For an informed debate, Dr Chua and Tee Yong should demand the tabling in Parliament of the World Bank Report entitled “Optimal design for a minimum wage policy in Malaysia” to enable genuine debate and not fact-free silly statements.

Liew Chin Tong