"Generally, the income for all workers is quite low currently although the managers of GLCs (government linked companies) seem to be getting high salaries," he said during a visit to the shipyard of NGV Tech in Sijangkang, Banting today.
Without higher salaries, the country will not be able to achieve high growth, Mahathir said, adding that the increase in pay however must be met with equal amount of work.
He said when the productivity of staff is raised, the company achieves higher profits, and the employer will certainly reward the workers with higher income.
Mahathir also at the same time called on workers to have a sense of loyalty to their respective companies. He cited the Japanese workers' sense of loyalty as a factor that had indirectly contributed to the economic progress of the country.
Many welders from the country for instance are being pinched by companies from the Middle East which offer salaries three to four times higher than what they are getting now from their employers in Malaysia, he said.
Malaysia will not be able to also compete at the international level citing low labour cost as there are several countries offering low labour cost together with higher productivity where one worker is able to perform the work carried out by two to three workers.
Source: Malaysia Kini
I agree only in part that higher growth can happened with higher salary. Yes, higher salary can draw more talent to Malaysia or even attract talented Malaysians that reside overseas currently to return to Malaysia. But by paying high salary alone does not guarantee higher growth. No way! Instead I believe in FAIR payment...salary that commensurates with the job scope and its contribution. The adage of "it's not so much of what you know but who you know" is too ingrained in our system right now - from public service to private corporations. Because of this, the deserving people usually don't get "high" salary. Sad, isn't it?
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