Lee (front row, third from left) at the TAR UMT Sunbeam Splash charity event at a shopping centre in Johor Baru.
Johor government is actively engaged in discussions with key sectors to explore strategies for increasing the basic salaries offered to local workers.
State investment, trade, consumer affairs and human resources committee chairman Lee Ting Han said the priority was to ensure that the skills and productivity of local talent met industry demands.
“This follows a recent meeting with Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi and data centre companies, which offer at least RM4,000 to fresh graduates.
“We are now exploring how to increase the basic salary rate for workers who have been employed for more than three years.
“This initiative will extend to other sectors such as oil and gas, electrical and electronics, medical devices and others,” he said after launching the Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology (TAR UMT) Sunbeam Splash charity event at a shopping centre in Johor Baru.
Lee added that the state and Federal Government had offered various free and subsidised courses to locals to meet the demand for a skilled workforce in the country.
“We hope that once they complete their reskilling and upskilling courses, these sectors will be able to offer them jobs with better salaries in Johor, reducing the number of local talents seeking employment in Singapore,” he added.
Lee also said the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ) Business Working Group was holding almost weekly meetings to finalise the agreement details.
“The Federal Government, along with the state and Singapore governments, have introduced multiple discussion topics that are now divided into four working groups – ease of doing business, ease of movement, digitalisation and talent development.
“This will help Johor and Singapore develop a similar business ecosystem,” he said, adding that the agreement was expected to be signed at the end of this year.
A joint workshop between officers from both countries would be held to finalise the details before submission to the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) of both countries, he said.
Lee said his office was also working on a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between a technical vocational education and training (TVET) institution in Johor and a polytechnic in Singapore to create a partnership between industry and higher learning institutions.
“We want to ensure that when the JS-SEZ becomes a reality, we will have sufficient talent to supply the industry,” he said.
