In 2022, the Malaysian Minimum Wages Order came into effect – meaning every employee must be paid at least RM1,500. Unfortunately, interns don’t benefit from this order because they’re “unprotected” by the Malaysian Employment Act, bringing us to the argument that interns might be free labour for companies.
This is the sentiment of university student Rashifa Aljunied who raised an issue regarding unpaid internships on Twitter. She argued that interns aren’t free labour and that companies should pay them instead of exploiting them.
1. Interns Deserve To Be Paid
With over 8 million views, it’s unsurprising that many Malaysians chime in to share their opinions about internships and how much interns should receive. The first argument is from those who sided with Rashifa, agreeing that interns should deserve to be paid equally as permanent staff. As interns do just as much work, the argument is that they obviously deserve a higher pay. One supporter even argued that if companies cannot afford to pay RM1,500, they shouldn’t open internship placements in the first place.
2. Companies Aren’t Obligated To
However, that last statement might not have everyone on the same page because there were also many against making it mandatory to pay interns RM1,500. This argument mainly focuses on the fact that interns are just temporary staff who will leave the company once the internship period ends and thus, shouldn’t be expecting a full-time wage, especially if they don’t carry the same responsibilities. Many on this side of the argument also share that companies aren’t obligated to hire interns at all and are only doing it to support universities. Also, there is the idea that even if interns don’t get paid money, they get “paid” with experience and new knowledge.
3. RM1.5K Is Too High
Of course, we also see opinions from people who don’t pick sides and instead, choose to speak for both parties. They argue that while interns should receive allowances to cover their expenses, companies shouldn’t be obligated to pay them RM1,500 monthly. One HR practitioner summed up their argument and said they support intern allowances but believe that asking for minimum wage will only impact future applications because companies won’t hire interns anymore because they can’t handle the cost. Another tweet backed this up and shared that recruiting interns is just an additional cost and burden for companies and their staff.
4. Should Internships Be Mandatory?
Then we have those who believe the issue stems from universities themselves, arguing that unpaid internships wouldn’t be an issue if Malaysian universities just abolished mandatory internship placements and made them optional instead. The point here is that if universities no longer make it mandatory for students to graduate after internship, companies could just hire them full-time and pay them the RM1,500 they deserve. There is also the argument that this is better for companies because the staff would actually stay past 6 months.
What do you think about this issue and which side are you on? Do you agree with Rashifa or do you think RM1,500 is too much for a temporary intern? Are you one of those who think that mandatory internship placements are to blame?
Sources: Twitter
Adleena contributed to this article.
