The report found that Malaysian employees on minimum wage take home an average of RM1,323 monthly, up from RM1,052 recorded in January last year. This means that a basket of basic food products costs 30.6% of the minimum wage.

Basic food products include milk (RM69.90 for 10 litres), bread (RM35.10 for 10 loaves), rice (RM7.76 for 1.5kg), eggs (RM10.75 for 20 eggs), cheese (RM47.88 for 1kg), poultry and beef (RM151.20 for 6kg), fruits (RM51.20 for 6kg) and vegetables (RM31.67 for 8kg).

In comparison, a basket of basic food products cost RM371.55 in January last year.

Picodi obtained the prices from numbeo.com, a website set up for consumers around the world to monitor the prices of food, products and services.

It analysed 67 countries where the minimum wage was set by the government.

Of the 67 countries, Malaysia ranked fifth, boasting a minimum wage increase of 25.8% between January 2022 and January this year.

The report found that the minimum wage in Malaysia increased faster than the price of products over the past year.

For its analysis, Picodi compared the monthly minimum wage for full-time work in January this year with wages from January 2022. The rates were taken from official government websites, relevant ministries and committees.