Manufacturing sector at risk of losing talent over low wages

Supporting local talent: Liew (left) receiving a token from Datuk Seri Wong Siew Hai, president of Malaysia Semiconductor Industry Association, at the forum. — ART CHEN/The Star

KUALA LUMPUR: Many Malaysian companies have become excessively reliant on cheap unskilled foreign labour, resulting in low median wages in manufacturing, says Liew Chin Tong.

The Deputy Investment, Trade and Industry Minister said the current average salary for such jobs in Malaysia was only RM2,250, lower than the general median wage of RM2,400 across all sectors.