Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak said Pakatan Rakyat should not boycott the parliamentary select committee (PSC) on the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant.

Najib said the issue demanded a solution that was above partisan politics and hand to be handled by all quarters as it was a public interest matter.

Speaking to reporters in Putrajaya today, he said he could not understand why the opposition parties were against the PSC.

"There are several issues in our country that have to be handled in a bipartisan manner. It is not a question of politics; it is question of the interests of the people and country," Bernama quoted him as saying.

Yesterday, Pakatan MPs voted against the motion to set up the PSC before storming out of the House in protest.

Minimum wage by May 1?

Meanwhile, Bernama also reported that Najib might make an announcement on his administration's minimum wage policy on Labour Day, which falls on May 1.

In late February, Human Resources Minister Dr S Subramaniam said the policy was being finalised and should be revealed this month.

Subramaniam  said the policy would benefit 30 percent of the workforce, who are earning less than RM900 a month.

However, the manufacturing sector has warned that the minimum wage policy is likely to hurt businesses and possibly cause unemployment.

For example, the plastics industry is predicting that it would have to retrench up to 20 percent of its 86,000-strong workforce.