Malaysia urged major corporations to strengthen employee welfare, with a focus on wages and workplace protection, at Labour Day 2026 events in Kuala Lumpur on May 1. Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil said support systems for workers should be reviewed and improved without cutting into profits, saying large companies should look at what can be improved in salaries and protection for workers while keeping earnings intact [1].
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim used his Labour Day address to press wealthy companies and large conglomerates to listen to workers and protect their welfare even as corporate earnings stay strong [1]. He said employers must not sideline labour welfare and repeated that the country must safeguard the fate of workers as it develops [1].
Anwar also announced the Economic Resilience Package 2026, known as Progressive Acceleration for Capability and Employment, or PACE, which is valued at more than RM710 million [1]. He said the package is meant to strengthen employability, workforce readiness and labour market resilience through agencies including PERKESO and TalentCorp [1].
The government said Malaysia's unemployment rate stands at 2.9%, the lowest in more than a decade [1]. Anwar pointed to the RM3,000 minimum wage policy as evidence that companies can absorb higher labour costs without losing profitability [1].
The Labour Day remarks on May 1 set the tone for further efforts to support workers through PACE and related agency programmes [1].
