The need for a minimum wage rate is beyond doubt. But establishing a rate will not be an easy task because of the variables in society. One dollar goes farther in some places than others. Yet it may be the most pragmatic solution to ease the plight of the underclass those eking out a meaningful existence with wages that hardly feed the family in today's world of rising prices.
There is no doubt a country such as Malaysia can afford to pay its workers better wages. As one who has an intimate knowledge of business and how companies operate, I know that companies can do better than they have for workers. The dismal treatment of estate workers is a moot point. Companies make enormous amounts of profits but few take care of their workers beyond the basics, whereas good management always has the workers' interests at heart and goes the second mile.
The government too has much to answer for its use of the nation's resources in its care. Someone sent me an e-mail on the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra and I was aghast to learn that hundreds of millions of dollars have been paid to foreign musicians to prop up a status symbol that not only is wasteful and pretentious but robs local musicians of opportunities for advancement in a music group that uses their country's name. Such folly in the use of public money results in less money being available to those who need it most - the poorly-paid workers.
Bad financial management always results in the workers at the bottom of the food chain suffering.
The suggestion that capitalism has failed and socialism is the answer is also misguided. China and the former Soviet bloc are reasons why capitalism is the answer not socialism. But capitalism without benevolence and social safety nets is exploitation because those with strong capital will tend to exploit the weaker workers unless organised labour and the government intervene to protects workers' rights.
Trade unionism beyond a certain point becomes counter-productive and we have seen countries like the United Kingdom and Australia and New Zealand dismantle many archaic union practices, and the result is more buoyant economies.
There is much Malaysia can benefit by studying the Australian model. The egalitarian nature of Australian society ensures that workers are not exploited. There are minimum wage rates in place and laws protect workers across the board. Malaysians would be surprised to learn of the many social security benefits available to unemployed or disabled Australians, single mothers, pensioners etc. They are among the most generous in the world.
Human productivity is not skewed toward the brainy but a labourer has the chance to earn and sometimes more than a university professor. It is unique in Australia and the result of supply and demand but there is protection for blue collar and unskilled labour. Malaysia's unskilled workers are relatively unprotected and if anything, they are exploited by the unending supply of cheap foreign labour.
Frankly I would rather see a country pamper its citizens than one that enriches the select few often through questionable means.
Such benefits are possible because of the high taxes Australians pay and the absence of endemic corruption in the Australian government. The efficacy of the media within a democratic environment ensures that corruption is exposed. Also the nature of the power of the rule of law ensures that no one is above the law and even state premiers have gone to prison for financial misdemeanours of very small amounts. The law works without fear or favour.
Sadly in Malaysia much money has been siphoned off by corrupt politicians and government officers. The Auditor-General's report is a horror story of unparalleled proportions. It can only happen in a country that is rotten to the top that even the findings of the Royal Commission into the Police Force reveal startling cases of corruption in the police, the ones supposed to enforce the law. The muffled mainstream media does not help either.
Thus the money supply managed by the government becomes less available to the people. I honestly believe if there is better governance in Malaysia, if corruption is curtailed, and the system of political patronage is done away with, then society can function at a higher level of integrity and efficiency and more Malaysians will benefit. It will make everyone better off. Who knows how much of the country's wealth is dishonestly stashed away in some foreign banks when it should be regenerating the country's economy.
Meanwhile it is for progressive companies to realise that ultimately workers bring in the profits and to have the wisdom to reward productivity fairly. Some companies already do that. The road to social and economic justice is only open when companies take the moral high ground and lead in paying their workers a fair day’s wage for a fair day’s’ work without waiting for the government to intervene.
The Malaysian practice of making employees, even those at management level work long hours without being paid, is at the other spectrum of expolitation by employers. I have been through the system and never supported it. There is life after work and if everyone works diligently and is productive during the hours they are paid to work they will achieve the productivity the company seeks. Anything else is to rob the family.
Beyond the desire to reform the political culture must be the equal desire to change the commercial culture in the business arena. Exploitation of employees is as bad as corruption because both tend to defraud someone. Thus exploitation is a like a Medusa with many heads and the answer is to slay the monster and offer the people hope for a better existence. It must start with good governance in the public sphere and good management in the private sector. It has started after March 8, 2008.
