As of February 2020, the Malaysian government has increased the minimum wage for people working in major cities by RM 100, making it illegal for employers to pay their employees anything less than RM 1,200 per month. The former Minister of Finance, Lim Guan Eng, explained that the cost of living in these urban centres justifies the new minimum wage.   

Even though the salary increase was aimed at helping people sustain the higher cost of living in big cities, it was not accompanied by research on the reasons behind Malaysians’ discontent with their living situation. This may be due to the fact that many of the elite are removed from the reality of the financial struggle faced by common people on a daily basis. For instance, this was shown when Wan Saiful Wan Jan, Chairman of the National Higher Education Fund Corporation, advised parents to save money for their children’s education instead of relying on the government for financial assistance. This statement ignores that many Malaysians are underpaid, and even with the wage increase mentioned above their salaries are barely enough to make ends meet. This argument has been supported by the Malaysian National Bank, which stated that Malaysian employees are not being paid enough for their level of productivity compared to the country’s “regional peers, such as Singapore and South Korea”. Moreover, it is inappropriate for an authority figure to direct such comments at people dependent on the state when it is the responsibility of the government to support its citizens.

FINANCIAL FREEDOM

Financial freedom can be described as the ability to make choices in life without being held back by the amount of money that one owns. This means money should not be a worry when it comes to making important life decisions, such as continuing tertiary education or starting a family. When money becomes the reason that someone’s life is put on hold, it should be recognised as a violation of human rights, because access “to education, public health care, housing, a living wage, decent working conditions and other social goods” is part of the people’s socio-economic rights, as stated by International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA). These socio-economic rights are also covered by other international documents, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD).  

THE MALAYSIAN CONSERVATIVE GOVERNMENT

In Malaysia, the poverty line threshold is RM 2,208 per month, which is much higher than the minimum wage. As a result, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia, a total of 400,000 households fall below this threshold. If the government does not step in to allow these access to resources that could make positive changes to their lives, Malaysia’s development will be hindered.

Some argue that the government has provided incentives, subsidies, and benefits for the general public in the name of uplifting its democratic values. In practice, however, not everyone is able to profit from the government’s aid. An example can be found in Malaysia’s tertiary education system. According to article 153 of the Malaysian Constitution, “more quotas for admission into the civil service, public scholarships and education will be provided to the Malays and the natives of any of the States of Sabah and Sarawak”. This policy came into place soon after Malaysia achieved its independence in 1957 and was aimed at ensuring that the Malays and the natives would not be left behind due to their remote geographical location and lower levels of development. Many have suggested that the policy should be revised, but the past Ministers of Education have chosen to maintain the 90:10 quota established by the Constitution. This policy should be abolished and replaced with a new needs-based approach. By focusing more on people’s needs, Malaysians, regardless of their ethnicity, will be given equal treatment in all the opportunities the government has to offer and this can help them to improve their lives. Access to financial aid would reduce the strain on many Malaysians, and would provide them with more financial freedom.

Malaysia is a democratic country, whereby the government is elected through a public election. However, the government could be doing more to address the socio-economic issues that persist in the country. Ultimately, the government has been appointed by all races and ethnicities and works for the people, yet poverty and homelessness are still two of the biggest economic issues in the country today.

Ruhaishah is an undergraduate student majoring in Government and Public Policy, now interning at a local NGO that aims to help those in need and ignored, mainly the Indigenous people in Malaysia. She is currently a freelance writer aspiring to be a journalist in the near future.

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