KUALA LUMPUR – Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan has refuted Lim Guan Eng’s claims of a sudden surge in migrant labour approvals, saying he would school the DAP chairman on the issue when they meet in Putrajaya on October 5.
Yesterday, Lim said the ministry had made a “sudden announcement” to approve half a million migrant labourers to work in Malaysia, but Saravanan insisted the ministry had been consistent with the figure.
Responding to Lim, Saravanan told The Vibes that he had repeatedly explained that the ministry had provided the best possible solutions in the processing of migrant workers, and that the figures on approvals did not spike in a short period.
“The figure (of workers) is in accordance with current needs, but Lim Guan Eng either does not understand or pretends to misunderstand.
“He has issued all sorts of slander, which is why I have invited him to come to the Human Resources Ministry (office) to see for himself the approvals in our system,” he said when met in Parliament this afternoon.
“I hope that on October 5, he (Lim) would not ‘kecut’ (chicken out) and give excuses. Let him see (the facts), because I have relentlessly said he does not understand the process of bringing in foreign workers.
Saravanan also said the process of bringing in migrant workers was not only dependent on the Human Resources Ministry, as there are other factors that were involved.
“If there are any employers complaining, he must tell me what the complaints are about. Is it because they do not have permits or flights?
“There are a variety of issues, but he (Lim) cannot simply say the ministry has failed.”
On Saturday, the ministry issued a statement saying that 541,315 migrant workers had received approvals as of September 26, with 436,613 having paid the levy.
The ministry also noted the country currently has 1.3 million foreign workers, while the industry demand was at around 1.8 million.
In his latest salvo against Saravanan, Lim cited a statement from the Master Builders Association Malaysia, which called for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob to intervene in the labour shortage in the country.
However, Saravanan said he was scheduled for a meeting with the association this afternoon to seek clarification of their stance on the matter.
“There are associations that may not understand the situation on the ground. Employers may say they don’t have enough workers, but do not have appropriate documents. Then how can we approve foreign workers for them?” the MIC deputy president and Tapah MP said.
“If the embassies can only approve 100 workers a day, I don’t have the prerogative to increase that capacity to 1,000. If there are only 13 flights a week (from the source country to Malaysia), I cannot increase the frequency as it’s not my jurisdiction.”
“Similar to his (previous) Finance Ministry role, Lim does not understand the process of bringing in foreign workers.”
Early last week, Lim took to Facebook to remind Saravanan about their resignation challenge to each other, saying he had waited 10 days to hear from the minister on the matter.
The reminder came after Lim accepted Saravanan’s challenge to scrutinise his ministry for any shortcomings in addressing the acute shortage of workers in the country on September 15.
In the post, Lim castigated Saravanan for sheer incompetence for failing to answer or to justify his “pathetic” 12% success rate in getting approved migrant workers to enter Malaysia.
Subsequently, Saravanan had set October 5 for Lim to provide evidence that the former had failed to address the country’s migrant labour shortage.
The minister also said a similar invitation was extended to DAP’s Beruas MP Ngeh Koo Ham, who has been a staunch critic of the ministry. – The Vibes, October 3, 2022
