IN tabling Budget 2025 on Oct 18, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the new RM1,700 minimum wage, which rose from the original RM1,500, would be effective on Feb 1 for employers having five or more staff.
But a recent social media post of a clothing store in Malaysia offering their retail associates a basic salary of RM3,000 has sparked an online discussion amongst Malaysians.
X user @xhaiex shared the job vacancy post where full-timers were given a generous pay of RM3,000 (and this doesn’t even include the allowance of RM150). Meanwhile part-timers are paid RM12 to RM14 an hour.
According to the listing, the job requirements for the retail associate include greeting customers with a friendly smile, offering shopping baskets, keeping the sales floor tidy, restocking items promptly, and having to be flexible to work on shift, weekends, and public holidays.
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The post has since amassed 888,000 views and has been flooded with comments from netizens who couldn’t help but compare the salary earned by degree holders to that of the clothing store retail associate.
“The salary is the same as the salary earned by a fresh graduate project engineer,” shared @neverguy_.
Some also advised degree holders who have been earning salaries less than RM3,000 for quite some time to start looking for other job opportunities.
“If a degree holder has been earning a low salary for years, it’s reasonable to start looking at other companies. It’s clear that you’re severely underpaid. I’m not saying you should leave this job, but it means your company is taking advantage of your efforts while not compensating you fairly based on your qualifications,” commented @MsSitiZaza.
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