The cabinet has agreed to postpone a move requiring employers to pay their foreign workers' levy, to next year.

Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said the cabinet agreed on this matter today after a presentation by Minister in the Prime Minsiter' Department Paul Low who gave an overall picture about the plan under the Employers Mandatory Commitment (EMC).

"It is not just on levy, but on the rights of the employer to have direct access towards the workers, rather than going through a middle man, how to cut down bureaucracy procedures and how to have fast employment of foreign workers.

"At the meeting, we also voiced out the need to regulate employment of foreign workers and ensure it can support our economic growth, without giving problem to our social issues," Liow was quoted as saying by Bernama.

Prior to the cabinet meeting, Deputy Home Minister Nur Jazlan Mohamed had told Malaysiakini that the levy would not be postponed.

Under EMC, the employers can no longer deduct foreign workers' salaries to pay for the levy.

The policy is to ensure all employers are responsible for their foreign workers, from the point of their hiring until they return to their home countries.

The policy has drawn flak from various quarters, especially employers associations.

The Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) had urged Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to intervene while steel industry players had asked the government to rescind the decision.

Master Builders Association Malaysia (MBAM) had asked the government to shift levy payments back to foreign workers and warned that consumers may end up footing the extra cost borne by contractors in paying workers' levy.

Additional reporting by Kow Gah Chie