KUALA LUMPUR – All parties, including PAS-owned kindergartens, Pusat Asuhan Tunas Islam (Pasti), must comply with the RM1,500 minimum wage requirement and the Employment Act 1955, said Deputy Education Minister Wong Kah Woh.
Wong (Taiping-PH) said that while the issue of Pasti workers being paid below the minimum wage is not under the Education Ministry’s purview, he believes that all must obey the law.
“We have the Employment Act 1955… I believe all must adhere to this to protect the interests of their respective workers,” he told Dewan Rakyat today.
Wong said this during Minister’s Question Time in response to a supplementary question from Mohd Sany Hamzan (Hulu Langat-PH), who asked if the ministry could address the issue of underpaid Pasti workers.
The national minimum wage was set at RM1,500 under the Minimum Wage Order 2022, gazetted on April 27, 2022, made for Section 23 of the National Wages Consultative Council Act, 2011 (Act 732).
Earlier this month, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad (Setiawangsa-PH) called on PAS to look into the welfare of Pasti teachers after receiving claims the teachers were paid less than the minimum wage and were not provided with retirement plans.
This came amid growing concerns raised by Human Resources Minister Steven Sim, who stressed the impartiality of government investigations regardless of the entity under scrutiny.
The issue gained traction after the Peninsular Malaysia Labour Department issued a memo ordering statutory investigations into Pasti and other institutions associated with PAS, alleging that employees are being paid below the minimum wage. – March 27, 2024