KUALA LUMPUR: Deputy Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Abdul Muttalib has lauded employers who allow extra days off for their employees to go back to their hometown and vote this May 9.
He said the employers should not restrict employees who are voting out of state to return home to exercise their democratic duty.
"We know that if a worker is on leave for a long period of time this may somehow affect their productivity, yet we need to remember that voting is the responsibility of the rakyat and needs to be prioritised.
"It would not be an offence if an employee applies for leave from his employer to return home on polling day, because this is every rakyat's responsibility that is also provided for under Section 25(1) of the Election Offences Act 1954," he said at the 'Fostering Enterprise Harmony Through the Productivity-Linked Wage System (PLWS) Conference', today.
More than 300 trade unions from across the nation attended the conference organised by the Human Resources Ministry.
Also present was Human Resources Ministry deputy secretary-general Datuk Mohamed Elias Abu Bakar.