The Employment Mandatory Commitment (EMC), mandating employers to foot the levy for their foreign workers, does not apply in Sarawak, reports the New Straits Times.

The English daily quoted a press statement issued yesterday by Sarawak’s Deputy Home Affairs Minister Masir Kujat, relating that Sarawak is exempted from the EMC.

The new policy, which came into force on Jan 1, was met with strong protest from employers in the peninsula.

The report also quoted the Sarawak Oil Palm Plantation Owners Association (SOPPOA), which expressed relief over the exemption.