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Published: Thursday January 31, 2013 MYT 12:22:00 PM
Updated: Thursday January 31, 2013 MYT 2:58:53 PM

Donald Lim: Shifting levy back to foreign workers right move

BY NICHOLAS CHENG


KUALA LUMPUR: The decision to shift the foreign workers levy to the workers is right, said Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Donald Lim.

He said the decision, which was passed by Cabinet on Wednesday, would greatly benefit small and medium enterprises (SME) which hire foreigners.

"With the current Minimum Wage Act in effect and considering there are over four million foreign workers here, I think it is the correct decision which will lessen the burden of employers," he told reporters.

Lim said he hoped the decision, and the implementation of the minimum wage, would boost productivity.

Citing a World Bank report, Lim said the country's 13 million strong workforce's productivity rate was nearly six times lesser than the United States and other European countries.

"The report showed that Malaysians had an annual productivity rate of USD15,000.

"US workers had an annual productivity rate of USD 103,000 while the European workforce makes USD 80,000 a year," said Lim.

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