Malaysian employers group says retirement age should not be raised

The Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) has said that the country should adopt a re-employment policy for workers aged 60 and above, which would help keep older workers in employment beyond the retirement age, as opposed to raising the statutory retirement age. 

MEF executive director Datuk Shamsuddin Bardan noted that such a move would allow the country to have a million more experienced workers, who can in turn contribute to economic growth, according to New Straits Times. 

“Malaysia can try harnessing human resources from those in the senior age group. Although they may not be physically strong as before, they are experienced,” he said. 

“The policy could allow their re-employment until the age of 65, which if put into practice, would see an additional one million human resources in the country,” he told the paper. 

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He added that rolling out a blanket increase of the retirement age to 65 and beyond could adversely impact the labour market, causing unemployment among younger workers to rise. 

“Rehiring [older workers] on a contractual basis is a more efficient method than enforcing a general blanket increase in retirement age.”