KPMG Malaysia is urging both the public and private sectors to gradually increase the salaries of their employees following the imposition of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) next April.

Newly-appointed managing partner Johan Idris suggested a six percent increase in employees salaries per annum to help tide over the high cost of living in Malaysia.

“Six percent would be a good example to begin with especially after the GST implementation, new electric tariffs, petrol subsidy cuts and new toll rates,” he told reporters after the launch of the second-edition of the ‘Study on Non-Executive Directors 2013 - Profile and Pay’ publication.

Johan said that the GST implementation was inevitable as Malaysia was a developing country.

“As a developing country, many foreign companies come in to conduct business here and they also enjoy the same cost structure like the locals.

“So, by implementing the GST, which will also be levied on foreign companies and expatriates here, the government can spend revenue accrued appropriately to help balance its budget,” he said.

Johan, however, said the government must ensure the additional funds received from the new tax is distributed to the needy.

Meanwhile, KPMG Malaysia in collaboration with the Audit Committee Institute of Malaysia (ACI) today launched their ‘Profile and Pay’ report which highlights the findings of a study undertaken on the profile and remuneration of non-executive directors (NEDs) in public-listed companies.

The study revealed that the average remuneration for them had increased 37 percent to RM122,000 per annum from RM89,000 per annum in 2009, based on the top 300 market-capitalised companies on Bursa Malaysia as at June 30, 2013.

The study also provided information on gender diversity, with 11 percent of the 1,821 NEDs surveyed being female, a significant improvement from only six percent in 2009.

The increase in the number of female NEDs somewhat resonated with the government’s target to have women holding 30 percent of decision-making positions in Malaysia by 2016.

Johan said an upward trajectory in remuneration was expected as the NEDs  were re-discovering their positions at the top of the company.

Conducted over six months, KPMG Malaysia’s ACI study surveyed 1,821 NEDs across all industries.

- Bernama