IPOH – The Human Resources Ministry will not approve requests for a special quota for the recruitment of foreign workers based on supporting letters from any party, said its minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan.
He said only applications that follow the prescribed online procedures will be allowed.
He was responding to a letter – allegedly from the Prime Minister’s Office addressed to the human resources minister’s senior confidential secretary – that was uploaded yesterday by a Twitter user going by the name of @lady_bugg11 with the caption: “Patut majikan tak nak ambil warga tempatan (That is why employers are not hiring locals)”.
“I have received such letters from ministers, however, although they come with supporting letters, they still need to apply through standard operating procedures that have been set,” he said at a press conference at the Perak Hindu Temples Convention here today.
“When someone makes a request or appeal to the prime minister or any minister, they will usually pass it on to me because this is a rule enforced by the Human Resources Ministry so we do not necessarily have to approve it.
“Each time, I do not get any pressure from ministers, and I need to get the prime minister’s authority to approve any special quota,” he said.
The alleged letter contained a request for special approval to obtain a quota to recruit and supply a total of 12,000 foreign workers from source countries without having to be referred to the relevant committee.
On the recent chaos at the ministry – where it was swamped with hundreds of employers due to the allegedly irregular and troublesome interview session system for hiring foreign workers – Saravanan said it was caused by employers who were there without appointments.
“The application process has been expanded to all states, through the Labour Department, instead of just in Putrajaya, and there are no longer long queues for employers. It (the situation) only happened on that one (particular) day,” he added.
It is understood that the ministry limits 300 employers for interviews each day, but the presence of employers from across the country exceeded the quota. – Bernama, September 11, 2022
