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THE startling revelation by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim that 71% of Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) contributors do not have sufficient savings for retirement has been preceded by a series of policy missteps by a succession of governments.
During the Covid-19 crisis, the previous administration had allowed for EPF withdrawals, setting in motion a dangerous precedent.
Malaysia is a nation blessed with riches on most accounts. Big businesses have benefited enormously by exploiting the country’s resources, in particular its labour.
The necessary policies have not been put in place to ensure that economic development has been balanced. Malaysia today faces a severe cost of living crisis, as the M40 and B40 population find it difficult to participate meaningfully in society due to their economic struggles.
There have been ministers previously who have suggested eating instant noodles, which is an example of how the political and business elite have been robbing the country and the common people, and then insulting them.
To begin with, Malaysia must embark on taking the courageous decision to introduce a meaningful minimum wage. This would well result in some industries being priced out of the economy, and displaced workers will need to be retrained.
Training should be handled by the government as the private sector cannot be trusted to do so, as they will only act in their own selfish interests.
Migrant workers, engaged in slave-like conditions, have been used to depress wages and encouraged to do so by the previous corrupt administrations. This should be stopped with immediate effect.
Migrant workers must be hired on terms equal to that of Malaysian workers and given free access to movement. It is shameful to know that in this time and age, bonded labour exists in Malaysia.
Foreign businesses cannot be allowed to use Malaysia as a playground to maximise profits and then pack up and leave workers high and dry while they repatriate their profits. The redundancy payments as provided by law are woefully inadequate. There should be a minimum amount, and then an additional amount tied to the profits of a company.
The EPF savings fiasco should not be viewed in isolation, and instead as part of a holistic economic and labour revamp in the country. – The Vibes, March 1, 2023
Callistus Antony D. Angelus is the international labour adviser of the Social Protection Contributors Advisory Association Malaysia