A total of 2,000 applications from employers involving 155,621 foreign workers have been received by the government under the new recruitment and quota plan, says Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
The Home Minister said as of Jan 26, 19.58% of the applications have been approved while applications involving 125,156 foreign workers were still pending.
“In the first four days (Jan 17- Jan 20), the government received applications from 765 employers involving 56,622 foreign workers.
“From the total applications, the Human Resources Ministry approved applications for 30,465 foreign workers or 53.8% while the remaining 46.2% are still being reviewed by the ministry.
“However, the number of applications increased significantly as of Jan 26,” he said in his speech when giving the new year address during the Home Ministry’s monthly assembly on Friday (Jan 27).
Since the inception of the new recruitment and quota plan for foreign workers on Jan 17, the Immigration Department has collected some RM6.1mil in levy payments from 93 employers involving 3,999 workers in various sectors as of Jan 26, he said.
Saifuddin said the Human Resources Ministry needed three days to verify the authenticity of the applications by employers before approving it.
“Among the criteria is the qualification of critical sectors which contribute to the nation’s economic development, which are the construction of service sectors especially the restaurant, factory and plantation sectors.
“The ministry also focused on the employers’ authenticity, whether the business which applied for foreign workers truly exists.
“It includes reviewing the business status to prevent attempts taking advantage of the relaxed policy by outsourcing,” he said.
Data on approvals will be constantly monitored to ensure high demand for foreign workers especially in critical sectors could be met.
However, he said the challenge now was to ensure smooth entries for approved foreign workers.
“Thus, I have held discussions with the Indonesia ambassador and Bangladesh High Commissioner last week. I will be meeting the Nepal High Commissioner today as well.
“The meetings are vital to ensure the commitment from the source countries for the smooth entry of foreign workers,” he said.
On Jan 10, Saifuddin announced policy changes for speedier processing of foreign worker recruitment and simplified procedures for application.
On the application process, he said employers must first get approval from the Human Resources Ministry which would be done within three days.
Upon obtaining the approval document, employers could make levy payments at the Immigration Department.
The employers can then identify the foreign workers from the source country to undergo health screening as a precondition before they leave for Malaysia, he added.
After that, he said, employers must complete applications for the workers’ single entry visa.
Once the workers arrive and immigration processing is completed, they would be issued with the PLKS.
The new recruitment and quota plan will be in force until March 31, Saifuddin added.
Employers in need of foreign workers may source from 15 countries, namely India, Thailand, Cambodia, Nepal, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, the Philippines, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Indonesia and Kazakhstan.
