Malaysia government has announced Malaysia Budget 2020 on 11th October 2019. Please let us summarize the key points on Trust 2.
SECOND THRUST: INVESTING IN MALAYSIANS - LEVELLING UP HUMAN CAPITAL
Strategy 5 - Enhancing Job Opportunities for Malaysians
First – Graduates @ Work
For the hiring of graduates who have been unemployed for more than 12 months
The graduates who secures work will receive a wage incentive of RM500 per month, for a duration of 2 years, while employers receive a hiring incentive up to RM300 per month for each new hire, for 2 years
Second – Women @ Work
For women who have stopped working for a year or more, and are between 30 to 50 years old
The wage incentive for returning women workers is RM500 per month for 2 years and hiring incentive for employers up to RM300 per month for 2 years
The current income tax exemption for women who return to work after a career break be extended for another 4 years until 2023
Third – Locals @ Work
Incentivising the shift away from low-skilled foreign workers dependency
The wage incentive for Malaysian who are hired to replace foreign workers is at either RM350 or RM550 per month (depending on the sectors) for a duration for 2 years and hiring incentive for employers up to RM250 per month for 2 years
Fourth – Apprentice @ Work
TVET incentive programme, encouraging more youth to enter TVET courses
Additional RM100 per month on existing allowance for trainees on apprenticeships
Individual Tax Relief
Parents who enroll their children in registered nurseries and kingdergartens, individual tax relief for fees paid will be increased from RM1,000 to RM2,000
Strategy 6 – Modernising the Labour Market – Review the Employment Act 1955
First - Increase maternity leave from 60 days to 90 days effective 2021
Second - Extend the eligibility to overtime from those earning less than RM2,000 to those earning less than RM4,000 per month
Third - Improve protection and procedures for handling sexual harassment complaints
Fourth - Introduce new provisions on the prohibition of discrimination on religion, ethnicity and gender
Proposes to increase the minimum wage rate only in major cities to RM1,200 per month effective 2020
Enhancing Social Protection
EPF - Extend coverage to contract workers for services and professionals. As a start, this will be a voluntary scheme for workers in the arts and entertainment industry
SOCSO - Current self-employment social security scheme will be expanded to enable by other self-employed groups across 18 key sectors, such as fishermen, farmers, sole-proprietors and partnerships
i-Suri for Spouse
In 2020, i-Suri programme will be expanded whereby husbands may voluntary elect to contribute 2% from his 11% EPF employee contribution to his wife’s EPF account
* For more information regarding i-Suri, please refer to the previous post
Reference: https://www1.treasury.gov.my/index.php/
