Reforms | New Policies & Enforcement

A New Malaysia in the News

Political News from Around: Snippets and Links

The complete coverage of must-read Malaysian political news on current issues that matters. The news snippets are aggregated and sourced from various local mainstream media.

aNewMalaysia in the news is the assemblage of news snippets aggregated and sourced from multiple local mainstream media publications. Get the complete news coverage of political news, new government policies and initiatives. Sources

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Reforms: New Policies to Increase Govt Revenue

Departure Levy

The Departure Levy Bill 2019

Last updated: Aug 05 2019

What is the new Departure Levy?

A departure levy is a fee charged by a country when the person leaves the country.

Effective September 01, 2019, the Malaysian government will charge air travellers a levy/fee based on the travel destination and cabin class. The departure levy was proposed in the 2019 Budget and the new bill was gazetted on July 17, 2019.

How much are travellers charged?

Travellers leaving Malaysia for ASEAN countries will be charged RM8 for economy class and RM50 for other classes. As for flights to countries outside of ASEAN, economy class travellers will be charged RM20 while those in other classes will be levied RM150. This fee amount is in addition to a passenger service charge.

Why is the government imposing this levy?

Currently, travellers are already paying a passenger service charge (PSC) or airport tax of RM35 for flights to ASEAN countries and RM73 for non-ASEAN flights.

The departure levy is different from the existing PSC. PSC is not collected by the government but by Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) to run the operations of the airport. This new levy is collected by the government and has been projected to contribute a substantial RM1bil a year in revenue to the country's treasury.

Who is exempted from paying this levy?

The departure levy will not be imposed on

infants and toddlers aged below 24-months
Air travellers transiting via Malaysia with the transit period not exceeding 12 hours
Airline crew on duty

It has also been clearly stated that other non-air travellers do not need to pay the departure levy

pedestrians
anyone driving or riding any type of vehicle for personal use (including aircraft or vessel) and pillion riders or passengers of such vehicles

News: Flying from Malaysia? RM8-RM150 departure tax imposed from Sept 1 >

Aug 10, 2019 | Flying out of Malaysia: How does our exit tax compare against Asean neighbours?|Read more >|Malaymail

Reforms: Improve Enforcement

The Self-Employed Employment Injury Scheme (SEEIS)

Insurance coverage for self-employed

Last updated: Aug 01 2019

What is the Self-Employment Social Security Scheme under the Social Security Organisation (Socso) about?

The Self-Employed Employment Injury Scheme (SEEIS) social security scheme was introduced in 2017 to provide protection to the self-employed Malaysians. It is compulsory for self-employed taxi, e-hailing and bus drivers who work full-time or part-time to contribute to this scheme.

Who needs to make SEEIS contribution?

Ops Patuh will be carried out for one month (starting Aug 01, 2019) to ensure that all taxi and e-hailing drivers registered under the Land Public Transport Agency contribute to the Self-Employment Social Security Scheme under the Social Security Organisation (Socso).

How much is the monthly SEEIS contribution?

Self-employment contributors only need to pay a minimum of RM13.10 per month.

What are the benefits of SEEIS?

Employment injuries (occupational diseases and accidents during work-related activities) insurance coverage for self-employed contributors.
Cash benefits to the self-employed and their beneficiaries besides providing medical care, physical rehabilitation and vocational training.
Medical Benefit
Temporary Disablement Benefit
Permanent Disablement Benefit
Constant-attendance Allowance
Dependants’ Benefit
Funeral Benefit
Education Benefit
Facilities for Physical, Vocational Rehabilitation and Return To Work Programs

Quicklink to Self-Employed Employment Injury Scheme >

Contacts

Ministry: Ministry of Human Resource

Agency: Perkeso
Website: https://www.perkeso.gov.my/i
Email: perkeso@perkeso.gov.my

Tel: 1-300-22-8000
Fax: (603) 4256 7798

Reforms: New Policies for Environment

Waste Separation

Compulsory waste separation at source

Last updated: Aug 01 2019

Waste Separation at the Source

Effective August 01, 2019, the National Solid Waste Management Department has made it compulsory for all industries, commercial organisations and institutions (ICI) to separate their waste.

Informal tier-1 recyclers, also known as waste collectors will also be required to register with the National Solid Waste Management Department. They will be charged a licence application processing fee of RM100 and the licence fee of RM200 annually

The government has made it mandatory for all ICIs to separate their wastes into four categories:-

residual solid waste
recyclable solid waste
garden solid waste and
bulky solid waste

How will the policy be implemented?

Phase 1

Beginning August 01, 2019, all ICI located in Johor, Malacca, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Kedah, Perlis and the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya must sort their wastes at source.

The Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Corporation (SWCorp) send out enforcement officers to ensure compliance. The ICIs who fail to comply will be issued a warning.

Phase 2

Beginning March 01, 2020, ICIs who fail to comply will be slapped with a compound not exceeding RM5,000 or a fine not exceeding RM10,000.

Why do we need to separate the waste at the source?

By implementing compulsory waste sorting at the source for these large commercial entities which are large scale waste contributors, the government hope to achieve higher recycling rates as separation at the source will make it easier for recyclers down the recycling-chain. The government hope to increase the national recycling rate from the present 28% to 30% by 2020. It was reported that there are 150 landfills nationwide as of 2018 and 74 of them is expected to be filled-up by 2020.

What happens if these entities do not sort their waste?

The government will impose a fine in accordance with the Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Act 2007, Act 672. This Act is applicable to the relevant sectors in Perlis, Kedah, Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Negri Sembilan, Melaka, Johor and Pahang.

Contacts

Ministry: Ministry of Housing and Local Government

Agency: National Solid Waste Management Department
Website: http://jpspn.kpkt.gov.my/
Email: webmaster_ jpspn@kpkt.gov.my

Tel: (603)-8000 8000
Fax: (603) 8891 3190

The Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Corporation (SWCorp Malaysia) Website

News: Commercial solid waste separation to be done in stages Read more >

Contacts

Location: Malaysia

myBenefits101@gmail.com

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