The Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) estimated that foreign workers in the country remitted up to RM70 billion a year. MEF said the amount is expected to go up due to the increase in the minimum wage.
MEF Executive Director Datuk Shamsuddin Bardan said that with the number of foreign workers in Malaysia currently reaching almost 2.5 million, this figure is indirectly a burden on the country’s economy. “Previously, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) had stated that the cash flow was approximately RM34 billion a year. However, if unofficial channels — for example through friends or family members — were taken into account, the outflow of money could reach RM70 billion a year. “For every additional RM100 added to a foreign worker’s monthly salary, the outflow of funds would increase by RM4 billion a year,” he said as quoted by the Malay Daily. At present, a total of 2,438,468 foreign workers are registered with the Immigration Department of Malaysia (JIM).
Registered foreign workers in Malaysia are employed across seven main sectors: manufacturing, construction, services, plantations, agriculture, domestic help, as well as mining and quarrying. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim during the Budget 2025 tabling announced that the government intends to make it compulsory for all non-citizen workers to contribute to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) to be implemented in phases.
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