Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong said the matter was brought up in the Cabinet by Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and approved on Tuesday.

"It (the abolition) was unanimously endorsed (by Cabinet members), tailored to what the industry wants," he told reporters after launching the Malaysia International Cafe Show 2015 at the Putra World Trade Centre here yesterday.

When the Immigration Department stopped its over-the-counter (OTC) services this year, trade associations had raised a ruckus for being forced to use MyEG's online renewal service at an additional cost of RM38 which was later reduced to RM35.

The Government, said Dr Wee, would instead bear the costs, by paying MyEG its service fee from the RM125 levy collected from employers.

"Now, employers will not have to pay additional charges (to get their workers' permits approved)," he said, adding that OTC renewals at Immigration branches would also continue.

Asked about the RM35 paid to MyEG by the Government, he said this fee was justified because it was not used solely for the maintenance of the online renewal service.

"MyEG provides a full set of services, including the collection of employers' thumb prints and the printing of worker permit stickers," he said.

Dr Wee said he was confident that the Cabinet's latest decision would give small and medium-sized businesses the flexibility of renewing online or at the counters.

"This will solve the whole issue faced by the industry," he said.

Source: The Star/ANN