Raising wages of construction workers to encourage the locals to take up these jobs can lead to pricier homes, Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said.

This is after Putrajaya was urged to raise the minimum wage so that the local people would take up Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi's challenge to do "dirty jobs" that are now filled by foreigners.

"The wages of construction workers are said to be high in developed countries, so the locals there are willing to do it.

"House prices are also high, due to the high cost of labour," Khairy said on Twitter.

Gaji buruh construction di negara maju dikatakan tinggi. Sangguplah kerja. Harga rumah mereka pun tinggi disebabkan kos buruh tinggi.

— Khairy Jamaluddin (@Khairykj) February 14, 2016

However, Khairy’s rationale was challenged by a Twitter follower who pointed out that despite lower wages in the construction sector, Malaysian houses are still pricey.

Adjusted to purchasing power parity, the average house costs 9.7 times the median salary of a construction worker in the United States, 7.8 times that of a United Kingdom worker but a whopping 15.8 times in Malaysia, Twitter user Norm (@norman_g) told the minister.

“That’s true, but a spike in construction labour costs without increase in productivity will lead to higher cost of living,” the minister replied.

Khairy also sought suggestions on an appropriate level of wages for the construction and plantation sector jobs, which are shunned by locals.

This is after a Twitter follower told him that the wages offered in these sectors do not commensurate with the job requirements.

However, Khairy ( photo ) said, ideally, service sector jobs like those on supermarket floors should be filled by local workers.

Starting July 1, 2016, the minimum wage for workers in Peninsular Malaysia will be RM1,100 per month, while for those in Sabah and Sarawak, it will be RM920 a month.

The minimum wage also applies to foreign workers, but does not include domestic workers.

Earlier, PKR Youth vice-chief Fahmi Fadzli urged Putrajaya to raise the minimum wage to RM1,500 a month and to provide incentives to employers to hire locals, instead of foreigners.

"Without taking these steps, Zahid's challenge is just rhetoric, and is not an honest effort to help youths take over jobs being carried out by foreigners," Fahmi said.

Putrajaya last week signed a memorandum of understanding with Dhaka for people from Bangladesh to work in Malaysia.

There are 1.5 million workers approved to apply to work in Malaysia on the Bangladeshi government’s database.

There are an estimated two million documented foreign blue-collar workers in Malaysia, but experts say the real figure is likely much higher, given that many are undocumented.