He said Putrajaya’s main aim was to close the wage gap between local and foreign workers, Bernama reported.

“When employers are required to make EPF contributions for foreign workers, employers are not overly incentivised to start employing foreign labour,” Amir was quoted as saying at the ESG and Sustainability Conference 2024 today.

“This is not to say that they (foreign labour) are not valuable. I think foreign labour is valuable for promoting growth, but it cannot be at the expense of Malaysian employees.”

Amir said EPF is currently working out how best to roll out EPF contributions for foreign workers and is expected to announce the details next year.

However, the proposal has met with criticism from industry leaders, with concerns that it could increase labour costs and affect the country’s competitiveness.

The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) has urged the government to postpone the implementation by two years to give them time for stakeholder consultation and for businesses to adjust to an impending rise in financial commitments.