Jaringan Rakyat Tertindas (Jerit) has questioned whether one man's act of taking on a job of cleaning drains can really push the issue of minimum wage and workers' rights in the country.

Its national coordinator on workers' issues, M Sivaranjani, said it was not enough for one person to challenge this issue. “We need a movement, an action plan to bring up this issue nationwide,” she argued.

Azrolnizam Sidek, who holds a diploma in business management, has taken up Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi's challenge to youths to take up "dirty jobs" by working as a drain cleaner at a cement factory in Negeri Sembilan.

"I'm not sure how long he (Azrolnizam) can sustain this. Maybe for a stunt, for a short period, But how long will the people remember this?" Sivaranjani told Malaysiakini .

She said it was only when this issue reaches a wider audience nationwide that the government would listen to the people.

The 24-year-old Azrolnizam had challenged the home minister to raise wages for those doing the 3D (dirty, difficult and dangerous) jobs.

He has also said that the RM800 a month he is getting was barely enough to survive amid the rising costs of living.

Although Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has announced that the minimum wage will be raised to RM1,000 a month, it only takes effect in the middle of this year, which means for now, the minimum wage is still RM900 a month.

Commenting on Azrolnizam earning only RM800, Sivaranjani said Jerit "disagreed totally" with that amount

"What he's getting is not right and not worth what he is doing as a job," she said.

The government has been embroiled in controversies over jobs and wages as a result of its plan to bring in migrant workers from Bangladesh.

Defending the move to bring in the Bangladeshi workers, Zahid challenged youths to take up 3D jobs to make his point.

However, suddenly, just a day after the Malaysian and Bangladeshi governments signed the labour deal, the intake of migrant workers was suspended for the time being, pending a review by Putrajaya.