Malaysian SMEs oppose 4-day workweek

This view was voiced by Ding Hong Sing, President, SME Association of Malaysia, who said fewer work hours in Malaysia will result in less output and subsequently higher prices in the market as companies still need to cover their fixed costs.

“For example, if you make 100,000 products in one week when you shorten the working days, it will become 80,000.  But we still need to pay salaries and rent so we will need to raise prices to cover the cost and this will affect the overall economy,” he said.

Ding further clarified that Malaysia is currently facing a labour shortage as more than one million foreign workers have gone back to their home countries following the movement control order. 

He added that as a developing country, the level of automation has not yet reached that of countries which have implemented the four-day work week system. 

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“Countries that have implemented this system are advanced and their production is automated. As a developed country, they will source out to Asean countries to purchase products that are not automated. The proposal is good, but Malaysia cannot survive if we were to implement this,” he said, according to The Star.