KENYATAAN AKHBAR PARTI SOSIALIS MALAYSIA

Sebilangan besar pekerja berpendapatan rendah telah menerima berita tahun baharu yang amat menghampakan daripada Menteri Sumber Manusia, V. Sivakumar. Akibat daripada keputusan Menteri itu, pekerja-pekerja di tempat kerja kurang daripada 5 orang pekerja terpaksa menunggu 6 bulan lagi sehingga 1 Julai 2023 untuk menikmati gaji minimum RM1,500 yang dinanti-nantikan mereka. 

Perintah Gaji Minimum yang menetapkan kadar gaji minimum pada RM1,500 telah berkuatkuasa mulai 1 Mei 2022, tetapi kerajaan pada masa itu memberi pengecualian kepada para majikan yang menggajikan kurang daripada 5 orang pekerja. Kini, kerajaan baharu juga turut bersimpati dengan majikan-majikan dalam golongan ini dan menangguhkan lagi penguatkuasaan gaji minimum RM1,500 berdasarkan alasan cabaran ekonomi dan kewangan yang dihadapi oleh mereka.  

Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) tiada sebarang halangan terhadap keputusan kerajaan untuk membantu golongan perniagaan mikro atau majikan yang menghadapi masalah kewangan. Tetapi kami amat tidak dapat menerima satu keputusan yang mengabaikan dan langsung tidak mengambil kira pekerja miskin yang terjejas akibat penangguhan pelaksanaan gaji minimum ke Julai 2023. 

Kementerian Sumber Manusia harus berlaku adil dan mewakili kepentingan golongan pekerja juga. Adakah Menteri mendapatkan pandangan golongan pekerja sebagai antara pihak berkepentingan utama? Pekerja berpendapatan rendah yang menghadapi kos hidup tinggi setiap hari sudah tentu tidak dapat menyokong satu keputusan yang akan terus menyusahkan mereka.

PSM berpendapat bahawa dalam keadaan ini kerajaan harus menyediakan satu tabung untuk memberi subsidi upah kepada setiap pekerja dalam kategori ini untuk enam bulan yang akan datang – RM300 sebulan untuk 3 bulan dan RM150 sebulan untuk baki 3 bulan dengan RM150 lagi ditanggung oleh majikan. Pada anggaran PSM, hanya kurang daripada 300,000 orang pekerja bekerja untuk majikan dalam kategori ini, dengan gaji RM1,200. 

Belanjawan untuk bantuan subsidi ini hanya RM90 juta sebulan untuk 3 bulan pertama dan RM45 juta sebulan untuk 3 bulan seterusnya. Peruntukan ini bukan begitu besar, tetapi akan banyak membantu pekerja yang bergaji rendah di negara kita.

Beban daripada penangguhan penguatkuasaan gaji minimum tidak harus ditanggung oleh pekerja termiskin. Kami sedar bahawa pegawai kerajaan sedang mengorbankan sebahagian gaji mereka sebagai aksi solidariti kepada rakyat yang mengalami kos hidup yang tinggi, tetapi pekerja termiskin tidak mampu berbuat demikian.

Menteri Sumber Manusia juga harus sedar dan mengambil tindakan tegas terhadap sebilangan besar majikan yang masih belum membayar RM1,500 sebulan kepada pekerja-pekerja mereka sejak bulan Mei 2022. PSM menganggarkan bahawa kerajaan sendiri belum mengubahsuai kontrak untuk membolehkan kontraktor di sesetengah sekolah kerajaan membayar gaji minimum baharu kepada pekerja-pekerja mereka. Jangan abaikan pekerja!

Kerajaan harus tunaikan janji pilihan raya dengan peka dan mesra terhadap lapisan-lapisan yang termiskin dan terpinggir.

MohanaRani Rasiah
Ahli Jawatankuasa Pusat dan Biro Pekerja Parti Sosialis Malaysia
28hb.Disember, 2022

There has been many comments and criticism about the new Economic Minister’s rationale to regulate rising prices. Rafizi Ramli suggested consumers to cut down on buying chicken in order to lower the prices. His comment was countered today by Centre for Market Education (CME) CEO, Carmelo Ferlito, that our current rise in inflation is actually caused by Malaysia’s expansive fiscal and monetary policies that was introduced to cushion the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic where RM305 billion (23% of GDP) in 2020 and RM225 billion (15% of GDP) in 2021 were allocated for that purpose.

Both diagnosis of the problem are common perspectives shared by bourgeois economists and policymakers where their conclusions fall into one of two camps. It’s either-(1) Inflation is caused by too much money in circulation (citing governments stimulus assistance to rakyat) or (2) Inflation is a result of excess demand in the economy when consumers continue to buy even when prices are high.

According to Rafizi, the price pendulum should have worked as Adam Smith envisioned, when demand increases, price of goods will rise, creating an attractive profit margin. That will inspire more producers to jump into the bandwagon and start producing (supplying) that particular good until its sale exceeds demand, then the price will begin to fall. Prices in an ideal market system are supposed to gravitate to a natural price but this rarely happens in a real market place filled with monopoly and hoarding activity.

We have to take note that inflation throughout 2022 has been a worldwide phenomenon, as we have seen in Europe and the United States. Thus, causes of inflation can’t be concluded in a simplistic manner but it requires inclusion of multiple factors.

The pandemic shock, caused significant increase in prices across the board, when cross border logistics were disrupted and global supply chains failed. The capitalist production system is not built to endure such shocks like the pandemic and climate change. Post lockdown, prices of food stuff increased sharply.

No doubt it was also caused by ‘pent up demand’ where purchases for services and goods that were put on hold during the lock down are being spent now, causing a rise in demand within a short period. As food loving Malaysians, many families started enjoying eating out after they were forced to remain indoors during two years of multiple lockdowns. Thus both increase in production input cost and the sudden increase in demand would have caused the current spike in food prices.

Reverting back to Rafizi’s and CME’s diagnosis, I argue that their simplistic conclusions, would lead to adverse impact on the rakyat. The rakyat, especially the B40, simply cannot change their diet overnight, as chicken offers a cheap source of protein compared to fish. With climate change and reducing fish stock, a fish meal is a luxury item for not only lower income, but also middle income families. It’s easy to advise people that they should look for alternative sources, but communities are to compelled to purchase the choices available to them at the nearest accessible markets or grocery shops. If the market offers no other choices, they will buy the easily available chicken meat in order to provide a balance diet for their children. With no increase in real wages, they are forced to tighten their belt further on other important expenses like healthcare or housing in order to put food on the table for their dependents. Haven’t we heard enough reports of the deplorable state of the working people’s financial affairs like lack of savings for emergencies and overburdening debt?

Carmelo Ferlito’s conclusion too will tend to suggest that in order to reduce money circulation in the market, the government needs to cut back on its cash hand-outs to needy families and maybe also put a brake on minimum wage increase. The simplistic view is that, when people have less money to spend, there will be less money chasing after goods and it will reduce aggregate demand and curb inflation. This too will be a disastrous move on low income families, pushing them further into poverty.

Thus it is important that the government looks at a holistic solution and not quick fixes. In order to ensure the rakyat are guaranteed a healthy diet, food products need to be affordable. We need to seriously enhance our local self-sufficiency and not rely on food imports vulnerable to price fluctuations during pandemic, war (Ukraine) and climate disasters. Wages need to be increased and not curtailed to spur local economy, as working people are consumers that spend on local economy unlike billionaires that invest on some financial speculative instruments for their own wealth accumulation.

Our workers share of the GDP (compensation) is only 34.8% of our nominal GDP for the year 2021, confirming that we are still underpaid for the value we create for the economy. Anwar’s cabinet has to work in coherence which each Ministry complementing each other to achieve their goals. Inflation management, price controls, food sovereignty and poverty eradication mission has to be synchronized towards to common program to uplift the rakyat’s well being ultimately.

Sivarajan A
Parti Sosialis Malaysia Secretary General
27/12/2022

Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) menyampaikan ucapan takziah kepada keluarga mangsa yang terkorban dalam kejadian tanah runtuh Batang Kali dan banjir di kawasan Pantai Timur.

Bencana sedemikian sekali lagi mengingatkan kita betapa pentingnya Kerajaan menyedari realiti alam sekitar yang berada dalam keadaan genting.

Amat jelas bahawa kesan krisis iklim di Malaysia semakin serius setiap tahun. Tragedi Batang Kali membuktikan bahawa jika aktiviti pembalakan dan pembangunan tidak mampan diteruskan di lokasi-lokasi persekitaran, maka kejadian tanah runtuh akan berlaku apabila kekurangan liputan tumbuh-tumbuhan di lereng bukit dan tempat takungan air dimusnahkan.

PSM menyeru kepada Menteri baru Kementerian Sumber Alam, Alam Sekitar dan Perubahan Iklim YB Nik Nazmi untuk mengisytiharkan Darurat Iklim segera agar kemerosotan keadaan persekitaran hutan, tebing bukit, sungai dan perairan kita diutamakan. Hanya dengan deklarasi sedemikian, maka Kerajaan akan mengadakan tindakan segera dan bukan mengendalikan amalan biasa ‘business as usual’ urusan Jabatan dan Kementerian berkenaan.

Selain itu, beberapa kawasan di Pantai Timur juga memerlukan lebih perhatian daripada pihak kerajaan. Di Terengganu, keadaan banjir semakin serius kerana jumlah mangsa banjir meningkat secara mendadak dari 11,415 orang sehingga 19,601 mangsa hanya dalam sehari, dan usaha penyelamatan juga susah dilakukan akibat cuaca yang buruk dan jalan juga telah ditenggelami air. Banyak mangsa masih terperangkap di rumah mereka, dan mereka terpaksa meminta bantuan daripada orang awam melalui media sosial.

Oleh itu, amat penting kerajaan menggubal dasar polisi yang mengutamakan kelestarian alam sekitar supaya mengelakkan tragedi sebegini. Kita perlukan sistem yang lebih telus dan demokratik untuk melibatkan organisasi masyarakat sivil, orang awam dan juga komuniti Orang Asli dalam proses pembangunan negeri. Usaha ini bertujuan untuk mewujudkan mekanisme semak dan imbang supaya kerajaan negeri tidak akan meluluskan projek pembangunan yang memusnahkan alam sekitar.

Kami berharap tragedi tanah runtuh dan banjir besar menjadi amaran kepada kerajaan dan juga rakyat Malaysia bahawa sistem kapitalisme yang hanya berlandaskan keuntungan tanpa menjaga alam sekitar dan kesejahteraan rakyat hanya akan menyebabkan rakyat marhaen merana. Oleh itu, amat penting kita menggubal polisi negara dan dasar ekonomi yang lebih mampan dan manusiawi demi kebaikan rakyat.

Sekian, terima kasih.

Disediakan Oleh:

Biro Alam Sekitar dan Krisis Iklim (BASKI)
Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM)

The transgender persons/population in Malaysia are persecuted, criminalised and vilified openly in Malaysia. Many research shows that LGBT people still face high levels of stigma by medical professionals, face increased fear to access healthcare services and such.

PSM would like to condemn police unnecessary new conditions which is making our basic campaigning difficult. Initially during the briefing, we were told that only permits for political parties for ceramahs and the police will approve within a few hours without any delays.

Our experience dealing with the Seremban 2 IPD is that the permits cannot be processed immediately even if we apply for the permits a few days before the date of the of the event. Even on the day of the event, the police told us 2 days ago that permits can only be possessed in afternoon daily to be collected at 5pm daily.

Today we were shocked when Rembau Police says that we need permits even for candidate walkabouts! This is unprecedented! Is this a police state? Walkabout is the most basic of campaign done by parties during election and even this is restricted. We have always told the police to monitor us online as we are very transparent as all our activities are put there but they want to continue to shadow us.

With just 8 days to election, please let the parties to exercise their democratic rights and campaign without harassment and hindrance. It makes a mockery to democracy when even the most basic activities need police permits.

S.Arutchelvan
Election Director
10-11-2022

Bawani KS, calon Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) DUN N48 Ayer Kuning di Perak, mengisytihar hartanya kepada pengetahuan umum.