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Exactly which ministry is handling foreign worker levy issue, asks MCA's Dr Mah
The Cabinet should clarify which ministry is in charge of the foreign worker levy issue as three ministries seem to be involved, causing confusion, says Perak MCA chairman Dr Mah Hang Soon.
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Dr Mah Hang Soon. (The Star/ANN)
T
he Cabinet should clarify which ministry is in charge of the foreign worker levy issue as three ministries seem to be involved, causing confusion, says Perak MCA chairman Dr Mah Hang Soon.
He asked whether the issue fell under the jurisdiction of the Finance, Home or Human Resources Ministry.
"I urge the Cabinet to clarify which ministry is in charge.
On Sept 24, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng announced that skilled foreign workers who had worked in the country for 10 years would need to pay 80% of the RM10,000 levy, with employers bearing the remaining 20%, should they decide to extend their service for an additional three years.
image: https://content.thestar.com.my/smg/settag/name=lotame/tags=
Dr Mah said in a statement on Thursday (Sept 27) that Perak DAP chairman Nga Kor Ming should intervene and resolve the matter as he had commented that the RM10,000 levy was too expensive and needed to be reviewed.
"Nga also suggested collecting RM3,000 instead and promised to bring the matter up with the relevant minister.
"I hope Nga honours his promise and find the relevant minister to bring down the levy to RM3,000," he said.
According to Dr Mah, since Nga said he would discuss with the relevant minister, he should keep his word. However, with three ministers involved, the question that arose was: Who should he talk to?
"The Cabinet should clarify with Nga and businesses as to which minister they should talk to and which ministry they should follow up with" he said.
The RM10,000 levy imposed on foreign workers who have worked in Malaysia for more than 10 years was first announced by Human Resource Minister M. Kulasegaran.
"However, he later claimed that he was not in charge of the matter, and that it should fall under the jurisdiction of the Home Ministry and that he was merely following the Prime Minister’s instruction to make the announcement," said Dr Mah.
"Kulasegaran also asserted that this decision was made by the Cabinet in a meeting on Aug 28," said Dr Mah.
"I believe Nga may not even know which minister to meet, so there is still no news of him meeting any minister on the matter.
"If businesses wished to meet the relevant minister to obtain a solution for this, they too would be in the dark as to which ministry to consult," he added.
