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Sarawak exempted from new foreign-worker levy policy in Malaysia

Deputy home minister II Masir Kujat has stated in Borneo Post that employers in Sarawak are exempted from footing the levy of foreign workers under the new Employer Mandatory Commitment (EMC). This has been confirmed with the ministry’s deputy secretary-general (Policy and Control), Dato Suriani Ahmad.

In the report, Masir had commented: “I have called the deputy secretary general. She said the new policy is not applicable to Sarawak at the present moment.”

According to the report, Masir’s confirmation is expected to be well-received since employers in Malaysia were mostly objecting to the policy, with them urging the prime minister to intervene.

Meanwhile, Free Malaysia Today has reported that the Congress of Unions of Employees in Public and Civil Services (CUEPACS) is supporting the government’s decision for the new policy.

Its president, Azih Muda, noted that the levy was aimed to ensure employers remained responsible for their workers, rather than acting as a burden.

“We don’t want the government to bear the extra burden of paying for the medical treatment of foreign workers. There are records of non-payment by them (workers) after treatment in government hospitals,” he said to another report in Bernama.

Photo / 123RF

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