Foreign labour quota approved, hold-up is on employers’ side: Saravanan

PUTRAJAYA – Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan today responded to accusations levelled at his ministry for supposedly causing the shortage of foreign labour, noting that approval has already been given for the intake of over 500,000 workers to date. 

Instead, he pointed out that the hold-up is partly caused by industry players, who, despite the approval by the ministry, are not showing urgency in bringing the workers in. 

Speaking at a special briefing to address concerns raised over the matter, Saravanan noted that since the international border reopened in April, the ministry has approved a quota of 534,371 foreign workers from six sectors. 

The six are construction (55,549), services (93,447), manufacturing (317,253), plantation (51,528), agriculture (16,338), and mining and quarry (256). 

However, Saravanan noted that the employers have only paid foreign workers’ levies for 491,085 of the overall quota. Of this figure, only 144,676 foreign labourers have arrived in the country. 

“If they (industry players) are so desperate, why are they not bringing in the foreign workers sooner?” he said today. 

The briefing was also attended by DAP chairman Lim Guan Eng, former human resources minister M. Kula Segaran, and DAP’s law and Parliament spokesperson Ngeh Koo Ham. 

Citing the plantation industry as an example, Saravanan noted how despite obtaining the cabinet’s approval for the intake of 10,000 more foreign labour during one of its previous meetings, employers are not keen on bringing them in simultaneously. 

“They say they need to plan and bring the workers in stages. So, it is up to the employers to plan, not the government. 

“So even if the 400,000 quota has been approved, not all will come in at one go,” he said. 

The minister added that employers have up to 18 months from the approval date to bring in their workers. 

Separately, he said Malaysia is expected to see over 2.1 million total foreign labour in the country in the coming months, with hundreds of thousands more workers at various stages of processing. 

Responding to Saravanan, Lim said the ministry should not abandon its responsibility to ensure there are enough workers to fulfil the industry’s demand. 

“Your role is more than just approving. The ministry cannot say that just because approval has been given, your role ends there. It should be more than that. 

“No point giving approval if workers don’t come in. Until when will we be able to address this shortage?” he asked. 

Later when speaking to the press, Lim, who is former finance minister, said he would only pass judgement on Saravanan’s commitment to addressing the labour shortage once he sees the result. 

He added that he did not attend today’s meeting to score political points, but rather to find solutions to the issue. 

“Whether the proposals work or not, we have to wait and see. But what we want is to see some progress. You can ask me this question in the future.” – The Vibes, October 5, 2022