Stop Complaning On Your Increment

It is now 2011 and once again many of us have gotten our performance review for the previous year and not forgetting our annual increment %. Yet some of us gives a big sigh on our pay raise. We worked hard, we worked late, we worked on weekends and some even worked during CNY, yet the increment level is so low, like a friend of mine puts it: just enough for 6 extra wanton mee per month.

Do you actually think that your performance and the company's earnings are the only factors that govern your wage level? From a corporation's point of view, other indicators such as country's economic power, inflation rate & competitiveness relative to other countries matters to them. I would put those highlighted as priority.

Economic power: Just look at China, recently announced their 12th five-year plan (2011-2015) in which they will move from an export-driven economy to a domestic consumption economy just like the U.S. In fact annual wages have risen so quickly over the last decade (14% from NBS) that a lot of manufacturing MNC's are not planning to go into China at all now because it is getting expensive really really fast.

Inflation rate: China's inflation rate (CPI) stands at 5% for the month of February. The country's official goal is to keep it at 4% averagely. The govt has been busy and has raised interest rates three times and banks reserve requirements five times in just less than 6 months while also using other means of direct controls to cap price rises. e.g. property tightening.

Looking at Malaysia, all I can say is that it is a cost cutting heaven for MNCs. We have weak economic power thus still bloody stucked in the middle income zone while our inflation rate is amazingly bogus at 2.4%. I have posted this before here. The only means to keep ourselves hanging on is competitiveness as such the easiest means is to work hard, really hard. While you might be working really hard for a good pay rise, the truth is you are being bottlenecked by our country's economic progress and inflation rate. Can you see how China rises up the value chain that fast?

MNCs actually kinda love this for as long as it still lasts, they have to pay little as each year passes by while gaining the same if not more earnings. Why should they pay more when the nationwide market rate did not jump averagely higher? MNCs are not going to compare your pay vs other people's pay in other countries, it doesn't work that way. As long as there is still talent left in the country and not a big exodus of migrants we can still survive, barely!  

300,000 Malaysians left Malaysia in 2008 and 2009 with the majority of them being professionals. And that's just for an 18 month period. And includes ALL races as well. 40 percent of Malaysian emigrants headed for Singapore, 30 percent go to OECD countries (Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada and Britain) 20 percent to Asian countries (Brunei, Philippines, Indonesia) and the rest of the world (10 percent). Malaysia is fast losing that competitiveness because of our poor education system. What's the local workforce like nowadays?

Simple la.

2/10 are good ones, dependable

7/10 are those that just have the "cari-makan" attitude

1/10 job - crony or "makan gaji"

While you may still complain on your ridiculously low pay raise but before you hamtam your boss, keep in mind that the problem might not be you nor your work, it is our country. My point is, the thought of wanting to have a simple life, work, go home to a beautiful wife and happy kids, eat and sleep is a thing of the past. If you don't believe, ask around especially those with a young family. It is sad to know that most young people do not care much of the things around them but yet they complain on the very thing that they fail to understand.

From National Youth Survey: 

"53% of young people do not wish to be involved with politics, with findings being significantly higher among ethnic Chinese and Indian respondents at 75% and 68%, respectively."

So to the 53% out there! So you mind that our wages increase like <4% each year while our inflation continues to swell at 8%. I would like to see whether you are still happy and have that simple life when house prices are increasing in double digits and cars are deadly expensive.

By someone in KL:

"our income per capita per month released by our government is RM1300 per month

a fresh university graduate earn about RM1800 to RM2400 a month

luxurious??? my family have a gross income of RM15,000 per month, feed 4 person, 1 japanese car and one old local made car, double storey semi detached house, eat out once a week, one kid go to full day care and the other in primary school, 2 handphones with one fixed line, internet, cable tv and 2 air conditioner, one large dog and a pond of fishes......hmmm it don't seems to be very luxurious and only able to safe lesser than 10% a month but do have insurance coverage for my two kids"

Once we lose that little bits of competitiveness remaining, we are going to lose our jobs to the likes of Vietnam (fast growing probably as an excellent Mfg hub), Indonesia (their economic reforms are good) or Thailand (they are like the Japanese in SEA). For god's sake go out and exercise your voting rights! Stop complaining on your increment, it will remain as such for quite some time.  If you don't know what is happening to our country ask around, I am sure you have friends or family members whom are acute to what is going on in our country.