KUALA LUMPUR, June 5 — The implementation of a new minimum wage, proposed at RM1,500, must be done in a progressive manner to not hurt large-scale businesses, Bumiputera Retailers Association vice-president Datuk Ameer Ali Mydin said today.

Ameer, the managing director of local hypermarket chain Mydin, admitted that there is a need for the government to revise the existing minimum wage of RM1,200, but advised that it should be done in a staggered way.

“I frankly have no objection. But all businesses have their own cost structures so the increase should not ‘shake’ the industry.  

"For an employer like myself, increasing the wages in one shot would affect the business tremendously. A planned increase is better,” he told reporters at Ilham Tower here.

Ameer, who has over 10,000 employees under his wings, said a comfortable rate for him would be a steady increase of RM50 to RM100 annually per employee.

“When we do it like that, we would be able to gauge the direction in which the business is going. A progressive increase would benefit both the employees and the retailers,” he said.

Commenting on the recent abolishment of Goods and Services Tax (GST), Ameer said the consumers must be patient and be fair to businesses by giving them a grace period of a week to adjust to the change in tax system.

“After removal of GST, the prices would have gone down by 5.66 per cent. I do not agree that prices have not gone down.

“People need to be fair, however. When you go to a Mydin store and you find crazy prices, complain to the customer service and we will reimburse you.

“We won’t simply increase prices because everything is system-driven. Give us a week or so,” he said.

Ameer, who spent over RM20 million to upgrade his businesses to be GST-ready in 2015, said he hoped the government would look into a hybrid mechanism where the existing system will not be totally scrapped.

https://www.malaymail.com/s/1638603/dont-hurt-big-businesses-with-hasty-minimum-wage-rollout-mydin-boss-pleads