Working from home (WFH) is unlikely to reduce fuel consumption, says the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF). MEF president Datuk Dr Syed Hussain Syed Husman said this in a The Sun report, referring to ASEAN countries such as Thailand and Vietnam encouraging public employees to WFH, while a special Malaysian Cabinet meeting is being held to discuss the issue.
“Malaysian companies understand the rationale behind such initiatives, but emphasise that feasibility and effectiveness depend heavily on sectoral needs,” Syed Hussain said. He also pointed out blanket policies for industries that rely on on-site operations and direct customer interaction would be a challenge.
“Many businesses, particularly in manufacturing, logistics, retail, construction and hospitality, require physical workforce presence and cannot rely extensively on remote work,” said Syed Hussain, “WFH measures may therefore have limited impact on overall fuel consumption.”
Syed Hussain suggested industries where remote work is viable could adopt “temporary, flexible arrangements, including hybrid models, staggered hours or energy-saving practices within offices, provided the measures remain advisory rather than mandatory.” Energy-intensive sectors such as manufacturing, aviation and heavy industry have limited scope for WFH or staggered hours, explained Syed Hussain.
“These industries rely on continuous operations and on-site staff, so any reduction in commuting would have only a marginal impact compared with the substantial energy required for production,” Syed Hussain said. “Business hours and staffing are dictated by customer demand and service continuity, making adjustments difficult without affecting operations,” he added.
Syed Hussain said remote work or staggered hours would have a limited impact on Malaysia’s energy consumption and could disrupt industry operational efficiency or service delivery, with any short-term energy-saving policies remaining flexible, consultative and sector-sensitive, while longer-term strategies, including public transport improvements, energy-efficient technologies and support for managing rising energy costs should be considered.
“Employers generally prefer advisory guidelines rather than mandatory directives, allowing companies to adopt practices that are practical within their specific operational environments,” said Syed Hussain. “Incentives for energy-efficient equipment, better public transport connectivity and policies supporting digitalisation could reduce energy use without disrupting operations,” he added.
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Yeah fully agreed with MEF, its all depend on what type of work scope suitable for WFH…Not practical….
You need MCO for burning less
Cleaner air and save the planet
why need to WFH when malaysians already enjoy budi95 one of the cheapest petrol in the world?
brain you clearly need some brain medicine. The focus is to reduce consumption of fuel, not the price for the consumers.
of course Malaysian EMPLOYERS Federation gonna say that
Of course WFH won’t be applicable for industries and job scopes that require some physical presence, but for those that don’t – like the majority of white-collar work – won’t implementing WFH still result in a nett reduction in fuel consumption?
lolz MEF. of course they dont agree although its simple logic
also lets not forget the government needs to collect taxes from industry such as office rentals, office equipment subscriptions, restaurants that rely on office workers to patronize, and many other linked businesses (cars, bikes, tyre shops, office clothing stores that rely on people actually going to the office.
WFH just an excuse for people to have more leisure time. Even if WFH I believe at least 50% people will still drive out in the morning sending kid to school, go eat breakfast at far place (you won’t want to eat nearby, don’t cheat ourself), go shopping mall sitting at F&B do work etc.
How many people can really stay at home from 8:30am to 5:30pm and only lunch time go eat out. Majority people can’t do it. Mean people still drive and they don’t really “save fuel”. Meanwhile the task if stay office can finish within 1 hour but WFH takes few hours to complete the task. Most of us have been experiencing months WFH during covid. During Covid time got police roadblock and we can’t really travel far, but now WFH we can go anywhere freely during working hours.
Can encourage to take turn to WFH for more flexibility for employees. But never use the excuse of “saving fuel”, coz people will still go out while WFH most of the time.
I feel that’s more of a “you” problem than WFH problem. Lots of high value industry in developed countries do WFH policy, especially for those requiring high skilled workers who often not local and they still performs.
If people had enough time to go shopping mall within work hour, it means there’s something wrong with management and resources planning that cause such big free time. It’s not the fault of WFH, in office, this will manifest as people slacking out of office, scrolling tiktok mid-work and gossiping among office work. Same thing different scenarios
Imo, WFH is more beneficial for productivity, why? People don’t need to waste energy and time commuting in traffic to and from work, and go lunch. They’re ready at moment notice. No more excuse for being late, moral become higher.
Lastly, if employees still achieved their KPIs, why is it matter what they do at home? Why is it matter if they wanna do their works in cafe’s or whatever? If you need to constantly monitor your employees to ensure productivity, then there’s a fundamental problem with the management .
hahaha…. i WFH since Covid, and i fill my suv 3-4 weeks once…. to those said no different in fuel consumption….. MySss
WFH is not good for business and if this poor business climate continues many wealthy investors will flee the country. in fact many business owners have already left including
-daim children
– former PM sabri son
– former pM muhyiddin son in law
Got employers association now lets hear from the employees association, typical type c slave driver mentality
of course type m employers are better, who wouldnt want to enjoy the rileks m culture especially civil servants goyang kaki pattern of working 4.5 days a week and 11 months a year?
Type M under no supervision no working
This is the same effed up MEF that keeps salaries in Malaysia criminally low. These boomers need to go.
How many employees WFH really spend their 8-9 hours doing work? i bet everyone will somehow or another curi tulang.