YB. R.S.N RAYER - A.D.U.N. SERI DELIMA, PENANG

Penang Deputy Chief Minister Mohammad Fairus Khairuddin said the leaders needed to work together to come up with a policy that would be applied in all five states.
“We have to look at the details and discuss them thoroughly. We believe in the Pakatan spirit and whatever we come up with will reflect the spirit of our cooperation,” he told reporters at a press conference during the Workers Assembly and National Forum here yesterday.
Mohammad Fairus said a joint decision was necessary, as the coalition did not want the people in the five states to feel that they were being treated differently in each state.

He earlier said Penang was looking into increasing maternity leave from 60 to 75 days and was carrying out a detailed study on this.
He added that they would also hold dialogues with people’s representatives before coming up with the policy to protect the rights of the women.
Kedah state executive councillor Phahrolrazi Zawawi said all the states should have a common stand on the issue of minimum wage, maternity leave and other worker welfare related matters.
“We also cannot decide separately and we need to work with the Federal Government so that we can have a common policy,” he said.

Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin said they would be collecting data on birth rate and female workers in the public and private sector, and had already started a study in the public sector.
On minimum wage, Nizar said they would not only look at how other countries implemented them but also ensure there was a fair balance between employers and employees.