SHAH ALAM, Jan 15 — Malaysians are expected to do better in 2020 in comparison to the previous year, according to a recent online study.
The survey conducted by Picodi, a website that provides discount coupons and deals from online merchants, showed that the current minimum wage stands at RM1,050, compared to RM950 in 2019.
The RM100 increase surpassed any increase in the average prices of basic necessities.
It said that a basket of basic necessities consisting of 10 litres of milk, 10 loaves of bread, 1.5kg of rice, 20 eggs, 6kg of poultry or beef, 1kg of cheese, 6kg fruits and 8kg of vegetables would cost RM343.87 now, which accounts for 32.4 per cent of the average monthly income of a Malaysian household.
For the survey, the expenses for poultry and beef were estimated at RM114.81 and RM46.94 for fruits.
However, in 2019, the price of a similar basket of goods would have taken out 37.2 per cent of the same household’s income.
Picodi concluded that the increase in wages had outpaced any increase in the prices of goods.
This places Malaysia in the 35th spot among 54 countries surveyed for the best food prices in comparison to the minimum wage.
Australia takes top position on the list. Each household spent only seven per cent of its monthly income on basic necessities. The United Kingdom and Ireland were tied in second at 7.33 per cent, followed by the Netherlands at 8.6 per cent.
But Malaysia tops several countries in the Asian region. Vietnam came in at 46th place with 50.2 per cent, followed by Thailand at 47th place (51.6 per cent), India at 49th place with 59.6per cent and the Philippines at 52nd place with 75.11per cent.
In the same survey, Malaysia came out 20th among the same 54 countries for year-to-year increase in the minimum wage.
The report revealed that the monthly net pay (in 2020) was 9.1 per cent higher than the previous year.
“That is RM1,059.95 compared with RM971.65 for a full-time employee,” it said.
Earlier this week, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said Malaysia’s economy is expected to do better in 2020.
He said the government expects the Malaysian gross domestic product to grow robustly at 4.7 per cent in 2019, before accelerating to 4.8 per cent this year.
