PETALING JAYA, May 3 — PKR will ask federal lawmakers to review the difference in the minimum wage between peninsular states and east Malaysia, vice president Chua Tian Chang said today.

In a press conference at the party headquarters here, Chua said there was no reason for workers in Sabah and Sarawak to be paid RM920 when their counterparts in the peninsula will get RM1,000 beginning July.

“The concept of minimum wage is that the basic livelihood for individuals is covered and that is a form of safety net. That safety net for Sarawakians should not be less than the peninsula,” Chua said.

Yesterday, state news agency Bernama reported Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Richard Riot as announcing that the Minimum Wages Order 2016 will come into effect July 1.

The order will increase the minimum wage from RM900 to RM1,000 in the peninsula and from RM800 to RM920 in Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan.

In the report, Riot added that Putrajaya hopes the new rates will boost the income of Malaysians and improve the national economy.

The increase of the minimum wage was first announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak last October during the tabling of Budget 2016 in Parliament.