Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli said that the Cabinet has approved the progressive wage system policy, but further details will only be shared during the tabling of the upcoming Budget 2024.

“The policy has been approved in principal as well as the approach, and then we have to go through a series of processes including bringing down to all stakeholders and the level of coverage for specific group. Thereafter, we will translate it into the financial commitment that the government has to do and we will go through in the budget process,” said the minister, adding that the system is expected to be implemented sometime in April or May 2024.

Aside from sharing that the progressive wage system policy has been approved, Rafizi also commented that the upcoming national budget will focus on the development of states to bridge the economic gap between different areas in Malaysia. Accordingly, the government has divided Malaysia’s states into three categories based on their needs to facilitate this process.

The first group consists of states like Sabah, Sarawak, Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah, and Perlis – which must be prioritised for development, while the second involves states that are adequately developed and do not need much capital injection from the federal government (such as Penang, Selangor, and Kuala Lumpur). Meanwhile, the third group is comprised of states that fall somewhere in the middle, like Perak, Johor, Negeri Sembilan, and Malacca.

“This is also a change that we are refining because we also need to be fair to certain states such as Perak, Negeri Sembilan, and Malacca,” said Rafizi.

Budget 2024 is expected to be tabled in the Parliament on 13 October 2023.

(Source: The Sun Daily)

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• Budget 2024
• Progressive Wage Policy
• Progressive Wage System
• Rafizi Ramli
• Salaries
• Wages