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Tengku Zafrul: Malaysia should assess investors by job quality, treatment of women

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 14 — Investors in Malaysia should be assessed on the quality of jobs they create and how they treat workers, particularly women, said Malaysian Investment...

Malay MailMalay Mail2026-10-14 14:14查看原文 ↗

Investors in Malaysia should be judged on job quality, fair treatment of workers, and opportunities for women, according to Mida chairman Tengku Zafrul.

Advancing women's equality could add US$4.5 trillion annually to Asia-Pacific economies, with Malaysia potentially gaining US$50 billion a year.

Malaysia's female workforce participation is 56.6%, but many leave due to childcare duties, highlighting the importance of support for economic growth.

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 14 — Investors in Malaysia should be assessed on the quality of jobs they create and how they treat workers, particularly women, said Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) chairman Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz.

He said fair wages, safe workplaces and flexible working arrangements should be key criteria for quality investments.

“The investors we welcome to Malaysia should be judged by how they treat the women who work for them. Good jobs, fair pay, safe workplaces and flexible work.

“These are not favours. They are the new standard of a quality investment,” he said in his keynote address at the Annual Women Economic Forum and G100 Global Meet 2026 here today.

Citing McKinsey research, Tengku Zafrul said advancing women’s equality could add US$4.5 trillion (RM18.4 trillion) annually to Asia-Pacific economies, with Malaysia potentially gaining about US$50 billion a year, equivalent to roughly eight per cent of its gross domestic product.

He said greater workforce participation by women, alongside equal access to capital and markets for women entrepreneurs, would expand the economy’s productive capacity.

“When more women enter and remain in the workforce, women entrepreneurs have equal access to capital and markets, and talented women can rise into senior leadership, we expand the productive capacity of the entire economy.

“We enlarge the pool of ideas, skills and enterprise from which growth is created,” he said.

He noted that Malaysia’s female labour force participation rate reached a record 56.6 per cent at the end of 2025, but many women left the workforce after graduation because of inadequate childcare support and caregiving responsibilities.

He said women often had to balance their careers with caring for children and ageing parents, highlighting the need to address these barriers to enable more women to remain economically active.

Tengku Zafrul said empowering women was essential to unlocking Malaysia’s economic potential, particularly as countries competed for talent, productivity and innovation.

“In a world where every country is competing for talent, productivity and innovation, leaving women behind is not simply unjust, it is economically irrational,” he said. — Bernama

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马来西亚投资发展局主席东姑扎夫鲁表示，评判在马来西亚投资的投资者应该看重工作质量、对工人的公平待遇以及女性的机会。

促进女性平等每年可为亚太经济体增加 4.5 万亿美元，其中马来西亚每年可能获得 500 亿美元。

马来西亚女性劳动力参与率为 56.6%，但许多女性因照顾子女而离职，这凸显了支持经济增长的重要性。

吉隆坡，10 月 14 日——马来西亚投资发展局 (Mida) 主席 Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz 表示，马来西亚的投资者应该接受他们创造的就业机会的质量以及他们如何对待工人，特别是女性工人的评估。

他表示，公平的工资、安全的工作场所和灵活的工作安排应该是高质量投资的关键标准。

“我们应该根据投资者如何对待为他们工作的女性来评判他们，比如提供良好的工作、公平的薪酬、安全的工作场所和灵活的工作安排。”

“这些不是恩惠，而是高质量投资的新标准，”他在今天于此举行的2026年年度女性经济论坛暨G100全球峰会上发表主旨演讲时说道。

东姑扎夫鲁援引麦肯锡的研究表示，推进女性平等每年可为亚太经济体增加 4.5 万亿美元（18.4 万亿令吉），马来西亚每年可能获得约 500 亿美元，相当于其国内生产总值的约 8%。

他表示，提高女性的劳动参与率，并为女性企业家提供平等的资本和市场准入机会，将扩大经济的生产能力。