PETALING JAYA: All stakeholders' opinions must be considered when designing guidelines for the government’s much-anticipated Progressive Wage Policy, says MCA.
The party’s public policy and people's livelihood research advisory committee chairman, Dr Monna Ong warned that failing to do so could result in a policy that hurts the people.
This comes after Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM), a Pakatan Harapan partner, revealed that the policy was being crafted without any input from key stakeholders like trade unions, worker welfare associations, employers or any industry players.
“It is very inappropriate for the government to ignore the views of those who will be directly affected by the Progressive Wage Policy.
“They should be more open to other views, even if they may not be pleasant to hear,” she said in a statement on Thursday (April 18),
She warned that stakeholder discussions were needed to prevent another rollbacked policy change, similar to the 8% Sales and Service Tax (SST) on Traditional and Complementary Medicine (TCM).
“The SST on TCM was made without discussion with stakeholders, which resulted in its withdrawal after receiving strong criticism from various parties earlier this year.
“Mistakes like this should not be repeated as any policy weaknesses should be fixed first so as not to bring unnecessary hardship to the people,” she added.
Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli previously announced that Guidelines for the Progressive Wage Policy are expected to be ready by May this year in a written Parliamentary reply on March 15.
