What do you think of Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam’s answer to my question?
Go for the right type of foreign investors, says Subramaniam
2009-10-26 17:43http://www.mysinchew.com/node/30650
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 26 (Bernama) — State governments including those under the opposition should strive to attract foreign investors who are able to offer better renumeration packages for Malaysian workers, said Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S.Subramaniam.
He stressed that foreign investors should not be investing in the country on the premises of cheap labour and goods.
“If employers come here and just offer salaries between RM500 and RM600, naturally Malaysians will be disappointed.
“I hope future investors, including in Selangor and Penang will be those who have the power to employ workers with higher salaries in line with the call by Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak) in the Budget 2010 for Malaysia to become a high income nation,” he said in reply to a supplementary question by Teresa Kok (DAP-Seputeh) in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Teresa had wanted to know what the government was doing about the shortage of workers following its freezing entry of the foreign workers.
Subramaniam said the government introduced two economic stimulus packages for economic restructuring to ensure productivity increased.
“This is also one of the ways to reduce dependence on foreign workers and at the same time, help increase the salaries of local employees,” he said.
He said a few companies had also taken the initiatives to increase the basic salaries of their employees and it was hoped that this would attract more local workers to work and remain in the industries concerned.
He added that the government had also encouraged increased use of automation technology to avoid the workers’ oriented approach as well offered various incentives to companies to attract more local workers.
MySinchew 2009.10.26
dear yb,
is this dr S.Subramaniam a doctor that works in a hospital or clinic? does he know the industrial dynamics of the labor market? he cannot just tell investor:”if you come to invest, you have to pay more”. a really no-brainer.
in the long run, we have to look into our niche in the competitive market for foreign investments. have we already lost the ‘cheap labor’ advantage? it is less possible to offer cheap labor when the cost of living and income level are on the rise. we have to really ask ourselves what can we offer to the investors. labor force has to be upgraded if we demand higher pay. cost is not the only investment consideration, it is the value that matters.