International Desk: The government of the country is planning to make the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) mandatory for all foreign workers including Bangladesh in Malaysia.

On Saturday (October 19), Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was quoted by almost all the country's media, including the country's state news agency Bernama, as saying that the Malaysian government is committed to providing fair rights to all workers without discrimination on the basis of nationality, in accordance with international standards.

He announced that this proposal will be implemented step by step while presenting the 2025 budget in the country's parliament 'Dewan Rakyat' last Friday.

To encourage retirement savings and for informal workers and irregular income earners, Anwar Ibrahim, who as the country's Finance Minister and Prime Minister announced that the Retirement Savings I-Saran matching incentive under the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has been increased from 15 percent to 20 percent. , which will range from a maximum of 500 ringgit as an annual limit to a maximum of 5000 ringgit for life.

Besides, the Prime Minister also informed that the public-friendly 'I-Suri' programme, i.e. voluntary subscription program for women registered in the National Poverty Data Bank 'Ikachih' including housewives, widows, single mothers and single women, will be continued with matching incentives

C savings and protection against disasters. The Self-Employment Social Security Scheme will cover up to 70 percent of employee contributions, with an allocation of 100 million ringgit.

Also, concerned that Malaysia is heading towards an aging nation, Anwar said the Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) is reviewing its schemes to ensure tighter distribution among all generations and will create an opportunity for EPF members to transfer a portion of their savings directly to their family members' EPF accounts. .

Earlier, on October 4, during the visit of Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to Bangladesh, Chief Advisor to the Interim Government of Bangladesh. Muhammad Yunus told a joint press conference after a bilateral meeting, "We have discussed the entire system." We have gone through a very transparent process. We need workers, they cannot be treated as modern day slaves. Whether they come from Bangladesh or anywhere else, I have said this publicly before like here.