Levy Slapped On Foreign Workers

02 Feb 2013

Kuala Lumpur is slapping a levy on foreign workers, shifting the payments from the employers, so as to prevent that much money from flowing to the country of origin of the foreign workers.

The point is more than one-third of the Malaysian work force is foreign. The foreign workers are mainly employed in plantation and construction sectors, to which the local people are averse and prefer white collar jobs instead. The local people are being encouraged in their pursuit by the government. While the sons of the soil are being exhorted to take up jobs, the local recruiters are demanding experience for skilled jobs and shunning fresh graduates on this ground.

The Malaysian Employees Federation says the levy is actually 21 years old, and was fully paid till 2009 by the employers. The government has now decided to stem the flow of foreign workers on the one hand and save an amount of 2b ringgit from going out of the country.

Whatever the economics of the move to tax foreign workers anywhere between RM34.16 to RM154.16, the employers’ federation does not expect the move to result in not wanting foreign workers altogether. The foreign workers will still be required.

No doubt Malaysia is forging ahead in terms of development, but it will take time for the country to become fully developed one and may still need high professional skills also.