It is unrealistic to expect a standard starting salary across the board for graduates, says the Malaysian Employers Federation.
Its president Syed Hussain Syed Husman said higher pay was typically offered in high-demand sectors such as technology, engineering, finance and healthcare, while labour-intensive sectors and smaller businesses operated on tighter margins.
Starting salaries for fresh graduates cannot be reduced to a single benchmark such as the RM1,700 minimum wage, as employers juggle with various factors, he said.
Employers were prepared to pay more when graduates could show they were job-ready and able to contribute quickly, he said.
Syed Hussain was responding to remarks by human resources minister Steven Sim on Monday, that the RM1,700 minimum wage was a…