KKCCCI: Deferment of levy payment not solution

0

KOTA KINABALU: Kota Kinabalu Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KKCCCI) president Datuk Michael Lui yesterday welcomed the Cabinet’s decision to defer the mandatory imposition of foreign workers’ levy payment on employers until 2018, as this would temporarily relieve the burden of employers.

However, Lui disagreed with the deferment of the levy payment to next year as this is not the solution to the root cause.

He said the government should consider the heavy costs incurred on employers and in turn, seriously review the foreign workers’ levy policy and reconsider removing the mandatory foreign workers’ levy payment on employers.

“The Employer Mandatory Commitment (EMC) should not focus too much on the issue of levies to be paid by employers, increasing the rate of levies and security deposits. Instead, the EMC should focus on formulating and regulating the proper mechanism for the employment of foreign workers.”

KKCCCI reiterated its call to the government to discuss with the commerce chambers and relevant bodies before imposing any new policies or making major amendments in order to create a win-win situation.

He said the government was not being business-friendly by making the announcement without prior engagement with industry players.

“We should look into a more proper system that provides convenience to the employers in hiring foreign workers, including policies that prevent foreign workers from running away or changing work sectors illegally.

“We hope the government will reopen the foreign workers recruitment application to all industry sectors, remove middleman in the employment of foreign workers and simplify the procedures of legalizing the illegal foreign workers,”he stressed.

On another note, Lui expressed his condolence on the passing of the late Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem. He said a people-centric leader like Adenan was hard to come by, as the latter had the people’s interest close to his heart as he fought for equality and state autonomy for Sarawak.

Lui said Adenan was also the first leader in Malaysia who recognized the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC), a move that was highly lauded by the Chinese community.