The Malay Economic Action Council (MTEM) has urged the Performance and Management Delivery Unit (Pemandu) to monitor how much Malaysian public-listed corporations are paying their employees at the lowest level.

MTEM chief executive officer Nizam Mahshar (right) said that this will ensure more equitable distribution of wealth.

“This transparency will ensure that a fair share of their revenue is given back to the employees,” he said in a statement.

He said this in lending support to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's call to report diversity within the organisational structure of corporate sectors for better transparency within the workforce.

"We are against the income disparity among both the inter- and intra-race, and thus believe that transparency will ensure a fair distribution of wealth among the people," Nizam said in reference to Najib's speech at the 2nd Business Leaders Dialogue on Tuesday.

Nizam also highlighted the fact that in 2013, according to the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) salary data, close to four million of the 13.4 Malaysian workers earn below RM2,000 a month.

"In other words, close to 30 percent of Malaysian workers in Malaysia are living below RM2,000 a month," he said.

Disparity in median wages among the races

MTEM estimated that based on the compound annual growth rate found in the 2012 Salaries and Wages Survey report by the Department of Statistics Malaysia, there is a disparity in the median wages among the races in Malaysia.

“The highest median monthly wage went to the Chinese ethnic group, with RM1,900, followed by Malays with RM1,500, Indians with RM1,400 and finally, other bumiputeras taking home an average of RM1,000 per month in the year 2012,” the data shows.

With corporations publishing their annual reports, MTEM feels that this will allow civil society and shareholders to question if any Malaysian corporation performs racial profiling in its hiring processes.

Najib in a speech last Tuesday said that instead of merely setting diversity policies, listed companies should reveal the demographic breakdown of the employees.

“Emulate best practice in inclusion by disclosing workplace demographic – gender, ethnicity, and age by management levels,” he was quoted as saying by the Malay Mail Online .