Its minister M Kula Segaran said private sector employers must comply with the new benefit which was announced in the 2020 Budget yesterday.

“If the public sector can do it, why can’t the private sector?,” he asked after launching JobsMalaysia Caring Carnival 2019 here today.

Kula said the 90 days maternity leave will need to be implemented in accordance with the international standard, and action will be taken against companies that refuse to comply.

Tabling the budget yesterday, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said the government will review the Employment Act 1955 to make it relevant to the needs of the labour market.

Kula also said the Malaysians@Work incentive initiative will be managed and credited into the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) accounts of members to prevent embezzlement by various parties, including employers.

“The government will pay through EPF because the ministry and employers have a record of the employees. It is also to prevent employers from misappropriation of funds,” he said.

He said the first programme, Graduates@Work, is designed specifically for the hiring of graduates who have been unemployed for more than 12 months, and each graduate who secures work will receive a wage incentive of RM500 a month, for a duration of two years.

Employers, meanwhile, will receive a hiring incentive of up to RM300 a month for each new employee for the same period.