KUALA LUMPUR, March 2 — Amendments to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) Act 1991 to make foreign worker contributions compulsory are expected to be tabled in Parliament before the current Dewan Rakyat sitting ends on Thursday.
EPF Chief Executive Officer Ahmad Zulkarnain Onn said contributions for foreign workers are currently voluntary, but to make them mandatory, an amendment needs to be made, local newspapers reported today.
“Based on the early estimates we are working on, there are roughly two to two and a half million foreign workers that will need to come under the EPF platform,” he told reporters after the pension fund’s 2024 Financial Performance Briefing yesterday.
“The good news is with the tools and technology that we have today, a large part of it can be automated and digitalised.
“We are working quite hard on the plans and execution in anticipation of the launch,” he was quoted as saying in The Sunday Star today.
Separately, Sinar Ahad reported Ahmad Zulkarnain saying the amendment is to make the work conditions fairer for both Malaysian and foreign workers and ensure they are treated equally.
Ahmad Zulkarnain estimates up to 2.5 million foreign workers would be included in the new EPF scheme once the Act is passed by Parliament.
He said that foreign workers and employers are expected to start their contributions at 2 per cent each, adding that details will be announced in the coming months.
The mandatory EPF contribution on foreign workers was announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim during the tabling of the 2025 Budget last October.
Anwar, who is also finance minister, said that the move is in line with the government’s commitment to providing fair treatment to all workers regardless of their nationality as per international standards.
