MALAYSIA: Many Malaysians working in Singapore would return home if they were offered two-thirds of the wages they earn in the city-state, said Malaysia’s Deputy Minister for Investment, Trade and Industry, Liew Chin Tong, as reported by VN Express International.
The New Paper reported that he raised this point last Thursday while discussing the challenges Malaysia faces in retaining skilled workers, noting that “the problem in Malaysia isn’t a lack of talent but a wage issue.”
The Malaysian government has been working to address the long-standing issue of many skilled Malaysians leaving the country, particularly Singapore, in search of better job opportunities.
As of 2022, around 1.86 million Malaysians had moved abroad, with 1.13 million living in Singapore, according to TODAY. Many of those who left mentioned higher pay as a key reason.
Channel News Asia reported that in Singapore, two-thirds of Malaysians earn between S$1,500 and S$3,599 a month, whereas according to salary comparison website Salary Explorer, 65 per cent of workers in Malaysia make between RM3,850 and RM9,890 (S$1168.03 and S$3000.48).
Around 39 per cent of Malaysians in Singapore are skilled workers, and 35 per cent are semi-skilled, according to a government study from last year.
In 2021, Malaysia’s employee compensation to GDP ratio was 35.1 per cent, lower than the Philippines’ 36.7 per cent, Singapore’s 37.9 per cent, South Korea’s 47.2 per cent, and Japan’s 52.3 per cent, according to The Star.
To help reverse the trend, Malaysia has announced plans in its Budget 2025 to raise the minimum wage by 13 per cent to RM1,700 (S$515.75) per month starting in February, as per Free Malaysia Today.
Bernama reported that economic analyst Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ahmed Razman Abdul Latiff believes this wage increase could help boost workers’ purchasing power, indirectly improving people’s quality of life by enabling them to purchase more nutritious food, rent more comfortable accommodation, and save and invest.
The government has also set aside RM200 million (S$60.68 million) to help businesses with the increased wage costs, and it is investing RM7.5 billion (S$2.28 billion) into technical and vocational education and training (TVET), which could help raise starting salaries to RM2,500 to 4,000 (S$758.46 to S$1213.54) per month.
It is also working to attract investments in growing sectors like electrical and electronics to boost productivity and create more high-paying jobs.
According to The New Paper, many Malaysians working in Singapore have said that higher wages could persuade them to return.
57-year-old Michelle Cheong, who has worked in an administrative role in Singapore for over 20 years, said that if Malaysia offered wages close to two-thirds of what she currently earns, it would convince her to move back.
Ms Cheong highlighted Malaysia’s cheaper housing, better air quality, and less stressful work environment, noting, “Malaysia is my home, and my family and relatives are there.”
However, two-thirds of Singapore’s salary may not be enough to convince some Malaysians.
30-year-old Kumuthamaagaal Uthayakumar, who moved to Singapore in 2017 to work as a preschool teacher, said the city-state’s quality of life and greater sense of equality are why he chooses to stay despite the high cost of living.
He added that he doubts he’ll move back because Singapore has the best education system in Southeast Asia, and education and qualifications are crucial nowadays. /TISG
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