KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 24): Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd (Perodua) has urged the government to engage in dialogue with the various stakeholders such as industries and especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs), so that the implementation of higher wages would have the desired effect.

"We welcome the government’s Budget 2016 to address the welfare of the lower income segment of society and to further improve infrastructure, investment and economic activities among SMEs," said Perodua president and chief executive officer Datuk Aminar Rashid Salleh in a statement today.

"While we encourage better pay, we also emphasise on higher productivity to justify the increase in wages," he said, referring to the increase in minimum wage.

Tabling Budget 2016 in Parliament yesterday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced that the minimum wage for private sector workers in the peninsula will be raised from RM900 to RM1,000, and from RM800 to RM920 for those in Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan effective July 1, 2016. The minimum wage does not apply to domestic workers.

The premier also revealed an increase in Social Security Organisation (Socso) coverage from RM3,000 to RM4,000

"We hope that the government would further engage the various stakeholders such as industries and especially SMEs so that the implementation of higher wages would have the desired effect," said Aminar.

"We also hope that the increase in wages and benefits to the public sector will also translate into a better quality of service," he added.

Between January and September 2015, total vehicle sales fell 1.4% or 6,934 units to 485,388 units compared with the same period in 2014, according to the Malaysian Automotive Association.