A Malaysian woman recently took to social media to express her anger and frustration over what she described as her husband’s “ridiculous and exploitative” working conditions.
Her post quickly went viral after she revealed that her husband’s salary had been shrinking every month because his company kept imposing hefty fines for minor lateness.
RM40 fine for every 4 mins of running late
She wrote that her husband is fined RM40 whenever he arrives more than four minutes late. This rule alone caused him to lose over RM100 every month.
She added that he tried to avoid any deductions by leaving the house earlier this month, yet when payday arrived, the company still deducted RM100 even though he wasn’t late at all.
What shocked her even more was the fact that her husband’s basic salary is only RM1,500.
She noted that the government had already announced the new minimum wage of RM1,700 back in February, but the company had yet to implement it.
She claimed the management previously promised to adjust the salary by August but nothing happened.
‘Almost without basic human rights’
After EPF and other deductions, her husband only brings home around RM1,00. The OP said watching him work so hard only to take home such a small amount made her feel both heartbroken and helpless.
She also described her husband’s working conditions as “almost without basic human rights”.
According to her, he does not have fixed rest days. Some months he gets Sundays off, while other months he works every single day.
Although the official working hours are from 9am to 6pm, she said he often ends up working until 6.30pm or later.
She revealed that he once went two straight months without a single day off and that all the overtime he did was unpaid. His salary remained the same regardless of how many extra hours he put in.
Netizens’ reaction
Her post immediately sparked a flood of reactions from netizens. Many said the employer’s behaviour was “wildly unreasonable” and urged her to report the company to the Labour Department.
‘Ridiculous that the salary is still RM1,500 even though it’s already 2025. And he’s already married too. Ask your husband to change jobs. This is nonsense. Even working at a supermarket pays higher.’
