PERKESO group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Dr Mohammed Azman Aziz Mohammed speaking during a press conference on Ops Kesan Pekerja Asing, yesterday. With him are deputy chief executive officer (operations) Azirruan Arifin (left) and division head of foreign worker Hairiri Harun. — GLENN GUAN/The Star
KUALA LUMPUR: With about 300,000 foreign workers yet to be registered for the Social Security Organisation’s (PERKESO) contribution, the statutory body is launching an operation to weed out employers who have yet to comply with the requirement.
Effective Friday, PERKESO group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Dr Mohammed Azman Aziz Mohammed said that the operation codenamed Ops Kesan will be activated in all its 54 offices nationwide.
“According to the data we gathered and integrated from the Immigration Department, there are about 2.4 million registered foreign workers in the country but only about 2 million are registered with PERKESO.
“As of September, there were only 88% of foreign workers registered under PERKESO, of which 59% were domestic workers,” he told reporters at the PERKESO’s headquarters here on Friday.
Mohammed Azman added that this operation, which would also include other relevant authorities, aimed to provide comprehensive protection to foreign workers while being employed in Malaysia.
He also emphasised that the operation would continue until at least all registered foreign employees are protected under social security.
“We want to achieve the target of matching the data (of registered foreign workers) by the Immigration Department.
“There are still a few hundred thousands yet to be registered, hence, we will implement this operation continuously.
“Many of the foreign labours are brought in by certain companies and ended up with other companies once arriving in Malaysia, this group is also required to be registered under PERKESO as long as they are working legally,” he added.
He also said that there should not be any reasons by employers to not comply with the requirement as what have been implemented on local hires as well.
“If the employers did not register and contribute to PERKESO, who will bear the cost (in any case of work-related accidents)?
“When you employ locals, you contribute for PERKESO, so why should there be any difference when it comes to foreign hires? I don’t see any reason for a double standard,” he said when asked about potential implications on employers hiring foreigners.
He urged all companies employing the foreign workers to take the responsibility to ensure that they contribute to PERKESO for the benefit of the foreign workers under their care.
Failing to do so, Mohammed Azman said the employers would face up to two years’ imprisonment.
“If you think compliance is expensive, try non-compliance,” he warned.
He revealed that since the protection scheme was introduced in 2009 until October this year, PERKESO had issued a total of 24,801 compound notices to employers for failing to comply with the law, while 25,574 were charged for various offences.The compound notices, he said, amounted to about RM19.1mil to date.
Previously it was reported that starting from July 1, foreign workers would also receive benefits under the PERKESO’s Invalidity Scheme, including 24-hour protection and funeral repatriation costs.
The move, announced by Human Resources Minister Steven Sim earlier in May, would allow for enhanced protection of foreigners, including expatriates and domestic workers, employed in Malaysia.
This will see additional costs for both foreign workers and employers, with industry players estimating that this can go up to over RM140mil a year for bosses alone.
