PEOPLE.IDEAS.PERFORMANCE

117 Companies with global operations have to understand the local legislations and the availability of other financing programs. In Malaysia, the market penetration of individual health insurance is about 18 percent. Most employers in Malaysia provide health benefits on self-funding arrangement and only a small number of employers purchase group insurance to cover inpatient care. A report from the Salary and Fringe Benefit Survey for Executives conducted by the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) has indicated that there were only 14%companies that provided medical insurance to their employees (2005). MEF is an organization that represents private employers in Malaysia. As of December 2007, MEF has 4339 members representing 1,459,146 employees. For outpatient services, employers usually make a contractual agreement with the local medical providers/clinics. The majority of the employers provides health care benefits for their executives and the benefit plan is non- contributory. For government servants, medical care is easily accessible for at a very minimal cost at public hospitals. In Malaysia, the government spends RM22bil each year to fund public healthcare services, which only generate between RM400mil and RM500mil in revenue annually. Cuepacs, a union representing employees in the public and civil services, introduces the CuepacsCare4U Takaful program, which has been managed successfully to reduce the financial strain the Government faces in funding public healthcare. The program was first introduced in 1999 and CuepacsCare is a privately-run health Takaful (Islamic insurance) scheme that allows policyholders, comprising public servants and their family members, to obtain treatment at private specialist hospitals. To date, more than 130,000 civil servants have signed up for CuepacsCare. The scheme has paid out RM210mil in benefits to its policyholders. A RM5mil funds for CuepacsCare will be allocated by the government that will assist to reduce the quantum of any future increase in the policyholders’ monthly premiums. &21&/86,21 Designing an employee benefits program is a complex matter and should take into account many considerations that include strategy and objectives of the company, including approach with respect to risk, all this combined with the local legal and regulatory environment. In addition, employers need to decide between having internal or external funding of the benefits program. Providing benefits include an increase in cost to many employers. Therefore, understanding the design of the benefits program and understanding employees’ behavior is a continuous process in ensuring that the benefits are not only appropriate but sustainable. 5()(5(1&(6 AB magazine, 2017, Malaysia’s Employment Insurance System , available at: http://www.accaglobal.com/my/enmember/member/accounting-business/ Arokiasamy A. R. A.,2013, A Study on Employee Satisfaction Perspectives in the Hotel Industry in Malaysia , International Journal of Management and Strategy, 4(6), p. 1-17. Business Wire, 2012, Research and Markets: Travel and Tourism in Malaysia , Key Trends and Opportunities to 2016, available at: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20120614006268/en/research-markets- travel-tourism-malaysia-key-trends Bustani Hotel, 2017, available at: http://www.bustanihotel.com/