Human Resources Minister Dr Fong Chan Onn is so strong in his objection to minimum wage that he put the issue as a violation of the 'national philosophy'. He suggests that wage levels be determined by free market forces.

Exactly when did his implied free market theory become Malaysia's 'national philosophy'? Was it passed in parliament or any state assembly? But more importantly, can anyone be prosecuted for violating `free market philosophy'? If so, I have a few 'violations' awaiting the testing of free market laws.

For instance, why are there professional fees for lawyers, doctors, architects, engineers etc? The Bar Council can even make it a rule that its members not give any discounts. So if fees for professional services can be fixed so openly why can't a minimum wage level be similarly set?

Some may argue that professional fees may go through the roof if market forces are allowed to work their invisible hands. But by the same theory, a free market will surely rein in the fee structure so that professionals charging too high will get no customers.

So why accept professionals' 'minimum charge' but object to the lower income's minimum wage?

And why are so many Malaysian consumer services such water and electric supply, telephony, TV and radio stations, etc not subjected to free market competitions � why are licenses only given to a few select groups?

It would seem that the Barisan Nasional is no believer nor practitioner of free market policies - unless it benefits its interests only.

Would a minimum wage level rob the big corporations of their profits and hurt our economy?

Look at the people who need a minimum wage - plantation workers, general labourers, service industry workers, factory operators etc.

They are at the lowest end of the Malaysian wage scale. Yet plantations, construction companies, mulitnational electronic firms, food and beverage concerns etc are among the most profitable companies in the country.

The paradox of sectors which thrive with rich companies yet desperately needing a minimum wage level for workers shows that there is something terribly wrong with our economic system.

It is very clear that our system allows for open exploitation of labour and disallows them to have any bargaining power by forming unions (e.g. electronic workers, maids) or effectively running their own unions where they existed before.(e.g. plantation sector).

The argument against a minimum wage level would be more viable if smaller-sized companies were also against it. But here you have a situation where the richest corporations are opposed to a minimum wage. What does this say?

Then there is the dilemma of second class workers in the country � both legal and illegal. They undercut the bargaining power of the local workers � but yet the future of both depends on the elimination of wage differentials between them

A minimum wage policy can therefore help to eliminate the exploitation of foreign workers - maids, agriculture workers, construction workers etc. This exploitation by Malaysian industry also pushes many foreign workers to crime when their wages cannot reasonably sustain their living expenses

Some argue that higher wages will cause employers to hire less workers. This argument is valid if the minimum wage is indeed too high in comparison to the cost of living. There will then exist a relatively wealthy working class alongside an unemployed class which gets nothing at all.

But in Malaysia, a minimum wage policy is unlikely reach such levels as there is no commensurate bargaining power on the side of the workers.

Minimum wages will serve to stop the exploitation of workers where employers can well afford to implement it. Many countries like the US have a minimum wage policy and they have proven to be very competitive economies. This empirical argument alone is enough to blow the cover of 'free marketeers' in Malaysia.

All in all, it would seem that the BN government only favours free competition at the bottom � where the poor are made to fight and to be exploited. BN would rather keep its monopolies at the top of the heap where there is no competition, and no elections for top posts.

From this perspective, BN has not progressed much from its royalty/tauke/elitist beginnings.