The shortage of foreign workers needs be resolved soon, with arrivals of foreign labour into Malaysia being too few compared to the number of levies already paid at RM713,890 for the approved quota of 467,223, said the National Recovery Council.
The council’s chief executive officer Tan Sri Dr Sulaiman Mahbob said the quota approval and levy payment statistics as of Sept 12 showed an approved quota of 467,223. However, only 76,000 labour entries from 12 countries were recorded for the same period.
“That figure was too little compared to the levies already paid. Therefore, we want the Home Ministry and the Human Resources Ministry to review the process of hiring foreign workers because many sectors have a very high level of dependency on them.
“We found that many workers applied and made payments, but there were fewer people arriving. The question is, why haven’t they come? Does it involve their country’s problems or some other reasons? This point needs to be emphasised, otherwise the agriculture sector, especially palm oil, will continue to suffer problems from the worker shortage,” he told reporters in a recent media briefing.
He explained that labour-intensive industries such as the manufacturing, tourism, construction and retail sectors, including the electronics and agriculture sectors, are also seen to be affected by the labour shortage issue.
In addition to the workforce issue, Sulaiman said investment and trade as well as micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) also need to be prioritised in the country’s recovery process.
He said Malaysia needs to encourage further investment because it offers people job opportunities, while trade ensures that the country’s economic recovery continues as our economy depends on global trade.
“In the context of the affected supply chain, many export activities have been disrupted [due to the Covid-19 pandemic]. However, in this recovery process, we see that Port Klang’s performance has improved.
“They are ready and able to attract cargo to our ports. The port sector really helps us increase exports,” Bernama cited him saying.
In terms of the development of MSMEs, Sulaiman said that these groups need special attention from the Government because they are the backbone of the country’s domestic investment.
“MSMEs are the worst affected by the pandemic, compared to multinational companies that can move to other countries with lower labour cost.
“For that reason, we have to focus on MSMEs, as we want them to develop into mid-level companies, and to support multinational companies and later global industry players,” he said.
He said the cooperation of Malaysia Productivity Corp (MPC), the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), and Malaysia External Trade Development Corp (Matrade) is the best combination to drive the country’s economy.
“MPC can work with MSMEs to increase productivity, while MIDA encourages investment, and Matrade helps expand markets overseas. This is the best combination to drive the national economy,” he said.
Commenting on the proposal for a special moratorium on SMEs, Sulaiman hopes that the Government to be formed after the 15th general election will take a deeper look at the issue as SMEs are a critical component of the country’s economic growth.
Besides that, the National Recovery Council also emphasised the issue of food safety in ensuring that the country’s population’s food resources are at an optimal level.
“In 1970, we had the ‘Buku Hijau’ (Green Book) plan, a programme to help and, if possible, in the long term, we have to reduce imports in terms of food, not only from the perspective of self-sufficiency, but also food security,” said Sulaiman.
Therefore, Sulaiman urged the state governments to cultivate their agricultural land to produce food, while avoiding dependence on imported materials.
Meanwhile, Sulaiman also disclosed that the council had presented 95 proposals in total, with 86 having been approved by the Cabinet, while nine proposals are still awaiting a decision.
Of that number, 69% were related to important issues such as health, economic and social, while 26% were related to management and administration matters.
“Out of the 69%, 16 recommendations or 23% have been completed, 30 recommendations or 43% are still being implemented, and 14 recommendations or 20% have yet to be implemented. “Overall, almost 66% have been implemented. Things are moving. Most of the proposals were accepted by the Cabinet,” he said.
