Vilimalé MP Ahmed Nihan Hussain Manik has expressed his belief that the minimum wage amount should be higher than currently proposed by the government.

MP Nihan, who recently left the opposition Progressive Party of Maldives for their coalition partner the People’s National Congress, said this in a tweet on Wednesday.

Nihan’s tweet translates to, ‘A minimum wage of MVR 9,000 should be set for the next five years, starting 2019. The Maldives makes USD 9,000 per capita. So MVR 3,00 a day is the most appropriate amount. A rufiyaa for every dollar’.

The government coalition’s Maldivian Democratic Party has proposed a minimum wage of 6,000, at the rate of MVR 200 a day.

The President’s Office on Wednesday established an advisory board comprised of workers’ associations and businesses to work towards setting the ‘fairest’ wage.