KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysian Rubber Council (MRC), an agency governed by the Plantation and Commodities Ministry, has allocated RM17.3 million for the Hiring Malaysian Workers Fund (HMWF) 2.0 to increase Malaysian workers’ involvement in the rubber industry.
HMWF 2.0 is in line with the government’s policy of creating more job opportunities for Malaysians while addressing the manpower shortage issue.
MRC sustainability senior director Fauzi Mohd Ghazali said HMWF 2.0 benefits employers and local employees by reimbursing their respective Social Security Organisation (Socso) and Employment Insurance System contributions.
“There is also a one-off mobility assistance worth RM1,000 for employees who migrated more than 50km to another location for work,” he said during his opening speech at the HMWF 2.0.
Fauzi said that MRC has allocated RM1.77 million for Socso’s self-employed insurance scheme benefitting 38,000 smallholders registered under the Malaysian Rubber Board’s PAT-G system for a one-year coverage.
He was confident that this initiative will boost the country’s economic growth which will indirectly encourage young people, particularly those applying for their first job, to consider joining the rubber industry in the future.
HMWF 2.0 includes added advantages compared to its predecessor and will be extended to more rubber industry stakeholders in collaboration with Socso and the Malaysian Rubber Board.
The fund was first initiated in August 2020 during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic when the industry was experiencing manpower shortage to meet the supply demands of rubber gloves around the world. – Bernama, December 7, 2022
