SHAH ALAM: The amendments to the Employees Provident Fund Act (EPF Act) which will make foreign worker contributions compulsory, is expected to be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat next week.
The pension fund is also expecting some two million foreign workers to be covered under the EPF.
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“Based on the early estimates we are working on, there are roughly two to two and a half million foreign workers that will need to come under the EPF platform,” EPF CEO Ahmad Zulqarnain Onn told a press conference at the pension fund’s 2024 Financial Performance Briefing here on Saturday (March 1).
“The good news is with the tools and technology that we have today, a large part of it can be automated and digitalised,” he said.
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“We are working quite hard on the plans and execution in anticipation of the launch,” he added.
Zulqarnain said under the scheme for foreign workers, both the employee and employers will contribute 2% each.
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He said the EPF Act will have to be amended to make contribution of foreign workers mandatory.
He said the move was made to “equalise” the labour terms between Malaysians and migrant workers, adding that this was also outlined by the International Labour Organization.
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“We are trying to adhere to that,” he said.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said on Feb 3 that the EPF contribution for foreign workers will be capped at 2%, as opposed to the initial cabinet proposal of 12%.
