He said peace and rapid national development must be matched by guarantees of well-being for all segments of society, including workers, Bernama reported.
“This country must be peaceful and continue to develop and progress but, at the same time, we must ensure that workers’ welfare is protected. That is the priority,” he said at the national-level 2026 Workers’ Day celebration at Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur, today.
Anwar said the country’s current economic performance is commendable, including strong growth, record-high investments, low unemployment and a robust ringgit performance in Asia.
However, he raised the question of whether workers, particularly those in the lower and middle-income groups, were receiving fair benefits from these developments.
“We can list major companies in our country which record profits of RM1 billion or RM2 billion, yet still find it difficult to approve even a RM40 salary increase for workers.
“We want workers to be disciplined and highly productive. That is the responsibility of workers at all levels.
“We want this country to be clean, and so refuse collectors and cleaners make sacrifices. Can we take a moment to reflect, search our conscience, and ask whether these people are receiving the attention and fairness they deserve?” he said.
He urged all corporate leaders to reflect and reassess the treatment of their employees.
“I am not suggesting that rewards be given to the extent that companies incur losses. I have never proposed that, nor am I suggesting that we lose competitiveness.
“I am only suggesting that national and corporate leaders be more attentive and show greater compassion,” he said.
Anwar said Workers’ Day must remind everyone that without the people, farmers and fishermen, there would be no ministers.
“Without lower-level workers, there would be no companies to celebrate success,” he said.
He said the government would place special emphasis on the issue of workers’ wages as a key policy priority.
Anwar also said the government had previously increased the minimum wage from RM1,200 to RM1,500 and raised the minimum wage for government-linked companies to RM3,000.