Deputy Prime Minister, Dato’ Sri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail will be meeting Employees Provident Fund (EPF) officers this week to discuss the EPF contribution for housewives in the country.
This is exciting news for many housewives in the nation. Obtaining the EPF contribution for housewives is among the top prorities for Azizah as the new Women and Family Development Minister. She has proposed an EPF contribution of two per cent of the husband’s salary and RM50 from government funds.
The suggestion that housewives should receive a two per cent EPF contribution from their husbands’ salaries as well as RM50 from the government for the scheme was among the 10 key pledges, due in 100 days, made by Pakatan Harapan (PH) in its manifesto during the recent 14th General Election (GE14).
Now, it has won the election and formed the government in Malaysia, PH is committed to fulfilling all the key pledges in its election manifesto.
According to Azizah, the government will have to consider the EPF contribution for the first and second wives in the case of Muslims. Since Muslim men are allowed to have up to four wives, what about the contribution for the third and fourth wives, I wonder. Will the government also consider the EPF contribution for them?
Some people are also suggesting the EPF contribution for housewives whose husbands are unemployed.
What about house husbands who take care of the children and household chores while their wives work hard to earn money for their families? Shouldn’t the government also consider the EPF contribution for them too?
In certain overseas countries including India and Australia, the number of house husbands is increasing as the number of breadwinning wives soars.
This is an interesting global trend we cannot ignore. There are house husbands in Malaysia and even in Kuching but their exact number is unknown.
In an interview with New Straits Times Online, Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) president, Datuk Abdul Halim Mansor has pointed out it will not be easy for the PH government to implement its proposal on the EPF contribution for housewives because it is closely linked to the Employees Provident Fund Act and Employment Act 1955.
The execution of the plan must be approved by all parties of interest contained in the two Acts.
Either the consent of the EPF contributors must be obtained first for the two per cent contribution from the husbands’ salaries or the two Acts be amended altogether.
“If we were to make it compulsory for all employees to contribute two per cent to their wives, this will need the Acts to be amended in Parliament,” says Halim.
He adds that the two per cent contribution cannot be made mandatory because employers are not responsible for their employees’ wives or families. The employers are responsible only for their workers.
Halim says MTUC will not agree to a directive to make it mandatory for men to contribute two per cent of their salaries to their wives if it is not done according to existing laws and regulations.
He stresses the need for more discussions with EPF as well as groups representing employers and employees.
What is the value of a housewife? How much do housewives deserve to be paid?
According to a report carried by The Telegraph in the United Kingdom in 2014, the value of a housewife is priceless.
Why? Besides being a mum and wife, a housewife is also a private chef, a house cleaner, a live-in nanny, a person who does the laundry and ironing, a driver, a private nurse, a therapist, a personal assistant and a tutor.
The two per cent contribution is not much. If her husband earns RM1000 a month, a housewife will get only RM20 contribution. Add to that the RM50 from government funds.
However, the two per cent EPF contribution is a good start for housewives and women in Malaysia. It is the first such initiative in Malaysia and shows how much the PH government cares for the welfare of women in the country.
The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step and Deputy Prime Minister, Dato’ Sri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail has already taken the first step for women in the nation by making the EPF contribution for housewives one of her main priorities
As time goes by, further studies, discussions and adjustments will, no doubt, be carried out on the EPF proposal for housewives to make it a win-win situation for all the parties concerned.
