And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.”

Revelation 6:6

Cost of food outpacing minimum wage, study finds

Source: thestar.com.my
By Gerard Gimino

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia ranks 45th out of 64 countries in a study comparing the cost of basic foods with the minimum wage.

The study by ecommerce company Picodi.com found that purchasing basic food items to meet minimum nutrient requirements accounted for 35.3% of the minimum wage in Malaysia.

Basic food products considered by the study consisted of bread, milk, eggs, rice, cheese, meat, fruits and vegetables.

“A year ago, these products were worth 34.5% of the minimum wage.

“This means that prices have been rising faster than the current minimum wage.

“These are deemed sufficient to meet the minimum nutrient requirements of the average adult and valued at RM372 at the beginning of 2022,” it said.

Malaysia was in 55th position out of the 64 countries in the study when it came to minimum wage.

The report also added that there were no changes in minimum wage across 10 countries in 2021 compared to the year before.

The current average minimum wage of a worker in 57 cities and towns across the country is RM1,200 a month, and RM1,100 for areas not considered as part of cities and towns.

The minimum wage was set on Feb 1, 2020.