{"id":13277,"date":"2022-02-12T15:09:56","date_gmt":"2022-02-12T07:09:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/?p=13277"},"modified":"2022-02-12T15:09:57","modified_gmt":"2022-02-12T07:09:57","slug":"increasing-minimum-wage-can-raise-the-price-of-goods-economist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/?p=13277","title":{"rendered":"Increasing minimum wage can raise the price of goods – Economist"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 12\u00a0— An increase in the minimum wage to RM1,500 is likely to leave a price effect, that is\u00a0the price\u00a0of goods will increase, said Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) Honorary Professor Datuk Dr. Madeline Berma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said the increase in minimum wage could also cause a substitution effect because when the increase in the price of the goods was absorbed, often employers or operators would pass on additional costs to consumers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo\u00a0there are those who do not enjoy the increase in the minimum wage as macro-wise the price of goods goes up.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"minimum<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

“For me, the issue is not only managing the minimum wage increase because what is affected is the rakyat as a whole. The issue of chickens and eggs and the supply chain is worth discussing.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Another effect is that\u00a0some employers say this is the best time to replace workers with machines or new technology instead of having to bear the burden of rising labor wages,”<\/em> she said during\u00a0the Ruang Bicara program entitled ‘Cost of Living Rises, Salary Remains the Same… Until When?\u00a0– Malaysian workers’ on Bernama TV last night.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, she said that it is true in economic terms that putting money in the hands of a consumer or individual will generate the economy because the income will be spent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“As I had mentioned before, the target has to be right because many in the informal sector are in the low-income group,”<\/em> she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said it is not time for a minimum wage increase of RM300\u00a0because many employers are currently \u2018surviving\u2019 on\u00a0government subsidies. And the subsidies may end soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I\u2019m more worried about the timing because we need the micro, small, medium, and large-scale businesses to recover first.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Should we add higher labor costs to the cost of capital, not to mention the supply chain that is blocked? I feel we should first let businesses breathe, I don\u2019t think they said totally 10 years not to raise the minimum wage.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“For me, now may not be the right time,”<\/em> she added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NMT<\/a> as reported by Bernama<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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