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Currently, this provision only applies to states in the Peninsula and the Federal Territory of Labuan, where the Employment Act 1955 prevails.
Malaysia's Deputy Minister of Human Resources Mustapha Sakmud has addressed a Parliamentary query on whether the increased maternity leave provision has been made mandatory for all states including Sabah and Sarawak.
As Deputy Minister Mustapha explained, the main labour law that sets out workers' rights and minimum standards of employment for Malaysia is the Employment Act 1955 (EA, or Act), which only applies to private sector workers in Peninsula Malaysia and the Federal Territory of Labuan. Meanwhile in Sabah, the applicable labour law would be the Sabah Labour Ordinance (Chapter 67) while for Sarawak, it would be the Sarawak Labour Ordinance (Chapter 76).
However, following the 2022 amendment to the Act, the maternity leave provision was increased from 60 days to 98 days. This provision, which came into effect on 1 January 2023, is only applicable to private sector workers in Peninsular Malaysia and the Federal Territory of Labuan, since it falls under the EA.
Looking ahead, the Deputy Minister shared, it is expected that this same provision will also be made mandatory under the Sabah Labour Ordinance Chapter 67 and the Sarawak Labor Ordinance Chapter 76 "in the near future" after these two ordinances are transferred in line with the 1955 Labour Act.
Currently, the Sabah Labour Ordinance Chapter 67 has already been approved and is being reviewed by the Attorney General's department, he added. The last amendment to the ordinance was in 2005, with the following amendment being the second amendment. Meanwhile, the Sarawak Labor Ordinance Chapter 76 will be presented in a State-level meeting first before being presented to the national law department for further action.
As cited in New Straits Times, the Human Resources Department has received 14 complaints so far involving companies whereby female employees were not allowed to take up 98 days of maternity leave. Similarly, three reports were also lodged involving companies rejecting the one-week paternity leave.
In response, Deputy Minster Mustapha cautioned that employers can be fined up to RM50,000 if convicted.
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