KUALA LUMPUR: Enforcement of the RM1,500 minimum wage order for companies with fewer than five workers has been pushed to July 1, 2023.
Small businesses were initially slated to comply with the order on Jan 1.
Human Resources Minister V. Sivakumar said the government deferred enforcement of the order as it expected businesses to face economic and financial challenges next year.
"Postponing the implementation for another six months will hopefully give (the stakeholders) the opportunity to coordinate and balance their finances so that companies with less than five employees can have better economic recovery," he said in a statement today.
Sivakumar said other employers not eligible for the deferment must pay their workers the minimum wage.
He said this included employers with five or more employees as well as those that professional services under the Malaysia Standard Classification of Occupation (regardless of the number of employees they have).
These groups must pay a minimum wage of RM1,500, effective May 1, 2022. Prior to that, the country's minimum wage was RM1,200.