One of the hottest topics recently has been the low wages of our police force, notably the low-ranking officers. It was revealed by the Inspector-General of Police recently that some of his lower-ranked men earn as little as RM650.00 per month. With the rising inflation, how is a policeman going to survive on RM650.00 per month especially in a big city like Kuala Lumpur?
Anyway, this post is not on policemen per se but salary in general. I wonder what is the starting pay for a fresh undergraduate these days... When I started working in an insurance company in 1998 armed with a Bachelor of Law (LL.B) Degree, my salary was RM1,750.00. That was 8 years ago.
8 years ago, the price of fuel per litre was not RM1.92. I think the price of a teh ais was less than RM1.20 and the price of a plate of nasi campur (1 meat plus 2 vegetable) costs in the region of RM3.50. Prices for a medium-cost double storey link house in say, Bandar Kinrara was probably less than RM300,000.00. (You got to help me here with exact figures, if you can recall). I was told by a church friend that when he started work in 1981 fresh from university, his starting pay was RM1,400.00. And prices of essential goods were much lower then.
Some Malaysians are more fortunate than others. They can continue to stay at their parent's home and need not worry about housing instalments. Likewise those who are blessed with parents who purchase them a car (even 2nd hand will do). But for the average Malaysian, I believe they got to start from scratch and save money before they can afford to buy a car or even a house. As a guide, a housing loan amounting to RM90,000.00 works out to RM850.00 thereabouts in monthly instalment every month for a period of about 15 years. A sizable chunk of salary therefore goes out the pocket every month before it even sits in the bank account to earn whatever measly interest that is being offered.
Are Malaysians having lesser spending power nowadays? Are you feeling the pinch?
I am rather curious, taking the price of say, an McDonald's Value Meal at RM9.00 and compare it with the starting pay of a fresh graduate, I wonder what is the average price of a McDonald's Value Meal out of Malaysia and the starting pay of fresh graduates there?
Technorati Tags : Salary , Malaysia , Cost of Living
Anyway, this post is not on policemen per se but salary in general. I wonder what is the starting pay for a fresh undergraduate these days... When I started working in an insurance company in 1998 armed with a Bachelor of Law (LL.B) Degree, my salary was RM1,750.00. That was 8 years ago.
8 years ago, the price of fuel per litre was not RM1.92. I think the price of a teh ais was less than RM1.20 and the price of a plate of nasi campur (1 meat plus 2 vegetable) costs in the region of RM3.50. Prices for a medium-cost double storey link house in say, Bandar Kinrara was probably less than RM300,000.00. (You got to help me here with exact figures, if you can recall). I was told by a church friend that when he started work in 1981 fresh from university, his starting pay was RM1,400.00. And prices of essential goods were much lower then.
Some Malaysians are more fortunate than others. They can continue to stay at their parent's home and need not worry about housing instalments. Likewise those who are blessed with parents who purchase them a car (even 2nd hand will do). But for the average Malaysian, I believe they got to start from scratch and save money before they can afford to buy a car or even a house. As a guide, a housing loan amounting to RM90,000.00 works out to RM850.00 thereabouts in monthly instalment every month for a period of about 15 years. A sizable chunk of salary therefore goes out the pocket every month before it even sits in the bank account to earn whatever measly interest that is being offered.
Are Malaysians having lesser spending power nowadays? Are you feeling the pinch?
I am rather curious, taking the price of say, an McDonald's Value Meal at RM9.00 and compare it with the starting pay of a fresh graduate, I wonder what is the average price of a McDonald's Value Meal out of Malaysia and the starting pay of fresh graduates there?
Technorati Tags : Salary , Malaysia , Cost of Living
