Member of Parliament proposed 13-month salary

KUALA LUMPUR: A lawmaker has mooted the idea of ​​a 13-month salary to boost the capital of ordinary citizens and allow them to invest.

Sim Jie Qing (PH – Bayan Baru) told the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday (Oct 22) that this will mean that employees will be paid two months’ salary in December.

He added that the extra monthly salary can be used to invest and earn more profit, as well as to cover other expenses such as the cost of going back to school.

“As ordinary citizens, we rely only on our salaries; we do not have capital to invest and make a profit.

“Our salary is 100% spent on daily living expenses. So how can ordinary workers get additional capital to invest?” – he said.

He proposed a 13-month system for consideration by private companies and the government.

He added that this model has already been adopted by some private companies and is very common in other countries.

Those with more capital have an easier time earning more than wage earners living paycheck to paycheck, he said, citing observations by Thomas Piketty, author of the acclaimed book Capital in the 21st Century.

Separately, he also asked the Ministry of Health whether prices would be controlled in private hospitals.

Sharing his own experience, he said the bill for his first child at a private hospital was just over RM2,000, but when he had his third child four years later, it was RM6,000.

“If we do not control private hospitals, patients who could afford it earlier will later become unable and shift to government hospitals.

“Eventually, the government will be burdened with the growing number of patients (in public hospitals),” he said.