News in Brief

Malaysia's economy to grow 4% - 5%

It’s superconfidence time. The Malaysian economy is expected to grow between 4-5 per cent in 2010, barring any unforeseen global economic or financial crisis, Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Mohd Yassin said in a news report.

Bank Negara Malaysia had earlier reported that the economy continued to perform better into the third and fourth quarters of this year he said.

"The government's various measures have helped stabilise the economy, together with the improved global economic conditions," Muhyiddin said at the meeting between him and captains of industries and businesses in Japan here, Monday.

1.5 Million Foreign Workers In Malaysia

There are about 1.5 million foreign workers in the various sectors in Malaysia compared with two million last year.

Human Resource Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam said, in a report by news agency Bernama, the reduced number was due to economic factors and also the work permits of some of the foreigners had expired.

"Still, there are companies applying for foreign workers to be brought in, especially for the plantation sector. The government, however, does not encourage their mass recruitment except in special areas," he said.

Dr Subramaniam said so far, the government was still allowing workers from Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, China, India and Nepal to be recruited, but only for specific sectors like construction and domestic help.

He said although foreigners were allowed to work in this country for a stretch of three to five years, the government could extend the period in certain sectors and if they were really required by the employers.

"However, the freeze on recruiting Bangladeshis stays to prevent irresponsible agents from exploiting them."

Blacklist poor paymaster contractors?

The government is studying the possibility of blacklisting main contractors of government projects who do not pay sub-contractors on time.

Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan was reported as saying that such contractors might be barred from further bidding for government jobs,

"In this matter, it is civil servants who get blamed when in fact, the main contractor had been paid," he said.

Speaking to reporters later, he said he was proud of the commitment and dedication shown by the 1.27 million civil servants in the country.

"They deserve the praise for their role in the development we are enjoying in the country today," he said.

193 Employers Fined For EPF Default

Blame it on the economy or poor neglicience? About one hundred and ninety-three employers were slapped with fines totaling RM278,970 by the courts for failing to remit the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contributions of their employees during the third-quarter of this year.

According to Bernama report, during the same period, 1,913 criminal cases were filed by the EPF against errant employers for defaulting on their employees' contributions.

The EPF had also submitted the names of 234 errant company directors to the immigration department to prevent them from leaving the country without first settling their arrears, said the fund's general manager of public relations Nik Affendi Jaafar, in a statement.

"The rate of defaulting employers during this quarter has registered a drop of 1.73 per cent as compared to 1.81 per cent in the previous quarter," he said.

The report also quoted him as saying that the drop showed that more employers were aware of their role in their employees' retirement well-being.

Nevertheless, Nik Affendi said, members should check their statements to ensure the correct and timely remittance of their contributions. Point taken by all employers, we hope.

EPF retirement Increases in third quarter

Despite caution about income indequacy post-retirement, the withdrawal have increased last quarter. According to Bernama report, some RM1.97bil was withdrawn under the Employees Provident Fund Retirement Withdrawals in the third quarter of 2009, an increase from the RM1.64bil in the corresponding period last year.

Some RM1.41bil of the RM1.97bil, was withdrawn as Lump Sum Age 55 Withdrawal, up 14.2% from that in Q3 2008, EPF said in a statement on its unaudited results on Wednesday.

EPF chief executive officer Tan Sri Azlan Zainol said the remaining RM557.05mil was withdrawn under the Flexible Age 55 Withdrawal, up 38.05% from the RM403.51mil last year.

“Nonetheless, 72% of retirement withdrawals still consist of lump sum withdrawals. We hope to see this amount decrease over time as more members become increasingly aware that lump sum withdrawal will likely lead to income inadequacy during retirement,” he said.

The report also quoted Azlan as saying members had exercised greater prudence and care in making withdrawals for housing as showed by a more cautious behaviour due to the present economic conditions.

Construction workers ravailable

Need construction workers? No problem, there are more than 32,000 available for choosing. According to The Star newspaper a force of 12,000 foreign workers and over 10,000 locals registered with the Construction Labour Exchange Centre Bhd (CLAB) can be deployed to any contractor short of manpower.

CLAB chief executive Azlan Mohd Isa said there was no reason for contractors not to make use of them.

He said the 22,000 workers were involved in construction projects throughout the country but were available when their jobs were done.

“We encourage contractors to come to us because it is cheaper to source labour through us than through agents.

“If contractors’ needs do not match our local work pool, we will look to the foreign workforce to fulfil their needs. The aim is to reduce the intake of new foreign workers,” he said.

“Workers registered with us get insurance and compensation benefits and we provide comprehensive welfare to our workers,” Azlan said.