Govt interns entitled to RM900 allowance per month starting Sept 1
We have some good news for all university students!
The government has agreed to increase the allowance for interns undergoing practical training in ministries, government departments and agencies to RM5 an hour, starting from September 1.
The Youth and Sports Minister, Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, shared the brilliant news today (Aug 16) in the most millennial way: by announcing it on his Twitter account.
Alhamdulillah. Kerajaan bersetuju untuk menaikkan kadar allowance #PaidInternship di Kementerian/Agensi/Jabatan, dari RM300 ke ~RM900 (RM5 setiap jam). We did it!
Berkuatkuasa pada 1 September 2019. #YouthPower pic.twitter.com/4cSbIJDnSS— Syed Saddiq (@SyedSaddiq) August 15, 2019
Based on his tweet, the agreement was reached during a special meeting of the Cabinet held today.
Syed Saddiq informed his followers that the change would mean interns in the government sector will be earning about RM900 a month
This is a promising change considering many interns in the government either didn’t get paid at all or earned at the previous rate of just RM1.60 an hour (RM300 a month).
At the time of writing, Syed Saddiq’s tweet has been retweeted over 22k times and received 22.9k likes, with many replies thanking the minister for his hard work.
You’re one of the good things that happened to Malaysia YB. You’re doing an amazing job. 🔥🔥🔥
— Gayathiri (@Gayathiri_12) August 15, 2019
Alhamdulillah well done, so now YB bro perjuangkan kadar gaji minima RM1500 untuk anak-anak muda #YouthPower
— Thom Yorke (@yoijeff) August 15, 2019
However, there were also those who were seeking a little bit of clarification on the matter.
Sudah tertera disitu menggatakan tiada elaun😢 pic.twitter.com/MDdS2mwgQs
— Ety (@Ezzatizahari) August 15, 2019
Assalammualaikum, kalau mcm ni di tempat sektor kerajaan yg tidak diberikan elaun adakah akan dikuatkuasa #paidInternship ? Atau hanya utk agensi/jabatan kerajaan yg menawarkan elaun rm 300 dinaikkan ke rm 900? pic.twitter.com/vBs4Dmn85Y
— nashi (@ihsan_mohamad96) August 15, 2019
It appears that the rule only applies to federal government’s ministries, agencies, and departments, and not state government agencies and departments.
On July 24, the minister first announced that he was working on making internship allowance mandatory.
He explained that he planned to start the change with government ministries and agencies first and eventually working on having the rule implemented in the private sector too.
What do you think of the change? How much you were paid during your internship (or how much you think interns should earn)?
Share your thoughts with us on our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram!
