GEORGE TOWN – Penang will expedite approval for employers wanting to house their foreign workers in vacant commercial buildings and shoplots, a move that can help resolve the problem of cramped living conditions that increase the risk of Covid-19 infection.
State local government exco Jagdeep Singh Deo said speeding things up is practical and timely, given Penang’s struggle to contain the coronavirus.
The state has registered over 30,000 infections since the pandemic began. Today, it recorded three virus deaths, taking its toll to 96.
Jagdeep, who is also Datuk Keramat assemblyman, said there are 15 applications from the island and 13 from Prai to build workers’ dormitories.
Three quarters of the new Covid-19 clusters in Bayan Lepas involve factories, where a sizeable number of employees are foreigners.
“We need to up the ante to ensure that foreign workers’ dormitories have proper, liveable conditions that are contained and controlled,” Jagdeep told reporters.
“Building a dormitory will take three to four years.
“Because of that, Penang has a new approach. We are looking at vacant commercial buildings that are far from housing schemes.
“The whole idea is to get them (foreign workers) out of housing schemes, so that they can be controlled in a certain area, but with good living conditions.”
Unused commercial buildings can be converted into makeshift dormitories that are more spacious.
“We will also consider applications from big factories that have land available at their plants to build temporary workers’ dormitories,” said Jagdeep.
Eleven dormitories have either been completed or are in the process of construction, housing 78,839 beds – insufficient for Penang’s 200,000 registered foreign workers.
“We still need more accommodation for them,” said Jagdeep. – The Vibes, June 7, 2021
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