KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 16 — The government is taking steps to diversify the domestic economic portfolio to reduce the deficit in the workers' compensation account, said the Finance Ministry (MOF).
This is believed to contribute to the attraction of investment towards creating industries and activities with high added value and quality across all domestic sectors which in turn provide more opportunities for expertise and increase local employment.
The government is also confident that through efforts to increase worker productivity through capacity building, it can meet the needs of industry while encouraging the adoption of digitisation and automation, said the MOF via a written reply posted on the Parliament website today.
It was replying to Batu Pahat MP Onn Abu Bakar's query on the measures to reduce the deficit of the balance of payments income account, particularly the workers' compensation component following the repatriation of foreign workers' income and the low contribution of Malaysians working abroad.
He said that the workers' compensation account has been in deficit for decades due to consistently higher outflows.
The outflow of money in workers' compensation accounts, i.e. wages and other benefits earned by foreign nationals working in Malaysia, increased to RM14.5 billion in 2022 and RM15.9 billion in 2023.
The increase in payment reflects the domestic activity that has returned to a brisk pace, contributing to job opportunities and an increase in workers' compensation.
The inflow of workers' compensation accounts, i.e. salaries and other benefits earned by Malaysians working abroad, increased by RM7.8 billion in 2023.
In the first half of 2024, receipts in workers' compensation accounts recorded RM3.8 billion.
— Bernama
