Raising Malaysia’s EPF employer rate to 20% will hurt competitiveness, business leaders say

[KUALA LUMPUR] Business leaders in Malaysia – already bogged down by rising costs – are resistant to the growing calls by workers for employers to contribute more to their pension fund.

Earlier this month, the Union Network International-Malaysia Labour Centre called on the government to develop new labour policies to address several pressing issues faced by workers, which included raising the employers’ contribution to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF).

Currently, the mandatory EPF contribution rate for employers is 13 per cent for those earning below RM5,000 (S$1,492) a month, and 12 per cent for those earning above that amount. The union wants to see this rate go up to 20 per cent for those who earn less than RM4,000 a month.