PKR to highlight wage disparity issue between Peninsula, Sabah and S'wak in next Parliament sitting

PETALING JAYA: PKR will raise the minimum wage disparity between peninsula Malaysia and Sabah and Sarawak in the Dewan Rakyat during the next Parliament sitting.
PKR vice-president Chua Tian Chang (pix) said there is no real justification in setting the minimum wage in Sabah and Sarawak at RM920 when it is RM1,000 in peninsula Malaysia.
"We can bring it up in Parliament as this involves national policy, if we have a stronger voice in the Sarawak state legislature we will also demand the state government to liaise with the Federal government so that Sarawak workers will not be treated as second-class.
"When you talk about 1Malaysia, you should also talk about equitable growth, Sarawak workers only get RM920 while peninsula workers get RM1,000; until now I don't see any real justification for that," Chua told a press conference at the PKR headquarters today.
Considering the development and economic disparity between peninsula Malaysia and Sabah and Sarawak, Chua said he is disappointed that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak approved the new minimum wage rates, set to be in effect on July 1.
The Batu MP, popularly known as Tian Chua, also refuted Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Jaafar's statement that PKR does not understand the Malaysia Agreement.
Chua said the argument has been frequently used in campaigns in the Sarawak election but PKR has never questioned the state government's rights under the agreement.
In fact, he said, the party has always fought for greater autonomy, increasing oil royalty to 20%, more developments to bring Sarawak in line with peninsula states, and now, a fair minimum wage as well.