KUALA LUMPUR, Nov. 1 -- Some Malaysian firms remain reluctant to pay local vocational graduates decent wages, often offering them salaries equivalent to those of foreign workers despite recent increases to the national minimum wage, Parliament was told this morning.

Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani said this reflected a broader unwillingness among businesses to move away from relying on cheap foreign labour as a core business model, even as policymakers introduce incentives and impose quotas to encourage companies to innovate.

"Unfortunately, some of these companies want to pay these TVET (technical and vocational education and training) graduates at the rate of foreign workers," he said during Quest...