KOTA KINABALU – Sabah’s higher unemployment rate during the pandemic was primarily due to the temporary ban on migrant workers, said Deputy Human Resource Minister Mustapha Sakmud, citing the state’s heavy reliance on migrant labour.
A ministry study concluded that many employers began to register more job vacancies when Malaysia imposed a ban on hiring new migrant workers at the height of the pandemic for two years, he added.
Mustapha said vacancies spiked from 28,638 in pre-pandemic 2019 to 74,450 in 2021, adding that Sabah's unemployment rate surged from 8.0% in 2019 to 8.2% in 2020.
“This probably means these vacancies were once filled by migrant workers and most of them are in the dirty, difficult and dangerous sectors.
“This shows there was a heavy reliance towards foreign workers in the state,” he said during his address at the Malaysia Strategy on the Development of Youth Careers held at Universiti Malaysia Sabah here today.
He added the unemployment rate dropped to 8% in the fourth quarter in 2022 when the ban on migrant workers was lifted, even though Sabah has not significantly reduced its unemployment rate.
He said Sabah should take its cue from Sarawak in setting a strict policy on hiring migrant workers, adding that the neighbouring state has capped it to 150,000, while instructing employers to hire locals if they need more workers.
Mustapha added Malaysia’s reliance on migrant workers has reached a worrying stage that even the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry had urged to allow them to work in the tourism sector. – The Vibes, May 11, 2023
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