“I want to remind them that we also know the calculation method used as we have friends who own restaurants.
“Thus, if we make an announcement (on new levy rates), we are not playing around because we have checked and researched it before making the announcement,” he said, adding that traders were already trying to scare people off.
Two days ago, the Malaysian Indian Muslim Congress (Kimma) president Syed Ibrahim Kader claimed that Indian Muslim restaurant owners would have no choice but to raise prices as the proposed levy increase would lead to financial problems for employers who hired foreign workers.
Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had said that beginning February 1, the foreign workers’ levy for the manufacturing and construction sectors would cost RM2,500.
Workers in the service and agriculture sectors will pay RM1,850 and RM1,500 respectively.
The increase will result in the government earning RM2.6 billion in revenue.
However, following protests, the government has kept the increase in the levy on hold and has begun discussions with stakeholders on the proposed increase.