PUTRAJAYA, July 14 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said today he has asked government-linked companies (GLCs) to pay their interns RM800 per month, breaking the industry practice.
He said the GLCs will also provide 35,000 job opportunities to the public and will start accepting technical and vocational education and training (TVET) graduates.
“I will monitor and have been asking for updates on their enrollment as I want to make sure we fill up these 35,000 slots. The Ministry of Finance has also told the GLCs to start paying their interns RM800 per month,” he said in a Budget 2024 engagement session at the Ministry of Finance here.
“I mean interns usually don’t get paid as they’re there for the work experience and such but there are those who are from very poor backgrounds. When I had dialogues with university students many begged for help.
Anwar said he received the suggestion for interns to be paid from a Form Six student, explaining that many still rely on their parents financially when they are interning.
Commenting on the matter, Deputy Finance Minister I Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan when met said the government hopes the RM800 allowance for interns can start as soon as possible.
"As it is I think some companies are paying interns but the amount isn't as close to RM800. Hence we got no timeline for implementation. We hope we can start this now or as soon as possible," he told reporters at the ministry's lobby.
"In addition, we would like to invite everyone including the Opposition to contribute suggestions for our Madani Budget 2024. All you need to do is log into the website on the finance ministry's website and key in your opinions. Just please keep it civil. We value every opinion," he added.
Last month, Anwar said companies should give interns an allowance to cover their travel and food expenses rather than expecting them to do unpaid labour.
However, he said this would be left up to companies and the government will not fix a policy on it as internships are not forced.
In February, the Malaysian Employers Federation president Datuk Syed Hussain Syed Husman reportedly said that making it compulsory for companies to pay interns will discourage employers from offering internships.
Anwar today also touched on the need for social protection, with Putrajaya to cover 80 per cent of Social Security Organisation (Socso, also known as Perkeso) contributions with an allocation of RM100 million, to encourage participation from gig workers.
Putrajaya will also fund RM100 million into the Madani medical scheme to help patients who cannot afford paid healthcare to get it for free.
He also said the Ministry of Health has been told to expand this scheme to seven states, especially in areas with dense populations.
Additionally, around 200,000 recipients of the Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah financial aid who are categorised as hardcore poor will receive an additional aid of RM600 called Sumbangan Asas Rahmah beginning July 17.
