The state opposition leader said this must be part of a long-term plan that the state government must undertake to prevent Johoreans from preferring to work in the republic because of the high value of the Singapore dollar.
The Perling assemblyman said the poor wages in Johor and other parts of Malaysia make them want to work in Singapore.
Watch the video here.
“In Johor, good jobs with decent pay mean paying at least two-thirds of the Singapore salary.
“This means if a semi-skilled Malaysian worker is likely to be paid S$2,000 (RM6,290) per month in the republic, he or she would most likely be happy to stay back in Johor if paid between RM3,000 and RM4,000.
“The gap in income is filled with better quality of life and more time spent with their families at home,” he said in his Labour Day message today.
Previously, FMT had reported that businesses in Johor Bahru were losing their workers to Singapore since the reopening of the borders as Malaysians were being lured by the strong Singapore dollar.
Liew said to reach such a level of pay for semi-skilled jobs, policies need to be geared towards technological upgrade, automation and IR 4.0.
“This will reduce our dependence on manual labour, especially unskilled foreign workers, and eventually better pay for workers.
“I understand that such a major wage structural shift and upgrade across the entire Johor and Malaysian economy will not happen overnight.
“It may take five to 10 years to realise this plan.”
The Johor Pakatan Harapan deputy chairman urged the new Johor government to draw up a five-year roadmap to create good jobs with decent pay, adding that the opposition is prepared to contribute ideas to ensure the success of the plan.
He said all investments in the state should be evaluated on the basis of its contributions to generate quality jobs with better pay for Malaysians.
“We need investments, but more so, higher-quality investments.
“These job opportunities should match the qualifications of young Malaysians, many of whom have received some form of skilled training, vocational (TVET) training or tertiary education.”