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PETALING JAYA: Stakeholders have welcomed the government’s Job Recalibration Plan that will allow employers to hire undocumented workers, saying that it will help them solve the problem of worker shortages.
However, players in the construction, manufacturing, plantations and agriculture sectors hope that the initiative can start as soon as possible.
The president of the Malaysian Master Builders Association (MBAM), Foo Chek Lee, said they were happy with the announcement as there was a massive shortage of general workers needed at construction sites.
He said workers in general are those who would be involved in manual and unskilled jobs, such as lifting stones, washing trucks and cleaning sites.
“Please keep the process simple and not strict so that it is easy to meet the application requirements. It is important to reactivate the economy and start jobs. Currently, the industry is not fully 100% operational, ”Foo said.
He also hoped that the process and approval would not take too long, as anything over a month would defeat the purpose of the initiative.
“Some subcontractors are there for four to five months. Then they would switch to other jobs, ”he said.
The President of the Federation of Manufacturers of Malaysia (FMM), Tan Sri Soh Thian Lai, also welcomed the move, saying it would ease pressure on the industry.
He said some sectors, especially those that export goods like the furniture and glove manufacturing industries, were short of workers, and locals were unwilling to fill these positions.
“We would like more details about the program, such as the cost of hiring,” he said.
The executive director of the Malaysian Agricultural Plantations Association (MAPA), Mohamad Audong, said the program was timely as there was a shortage of 60,000 workers in the industry.
“The shortage is acute. We tried to hire locals and offered jobs to those laid off from other sectors, but they weren’t interested, ”he said.
The executive director of the Malaysian Palm Oil Association (MPOA), Datuk Mohamad Nageeb Ahmad Abdul Wahab, is looking forward to the move, saying that even during the days leading up to Covid-19, they had fewer than 36,000 workers. He believes that number could have doubled since then.
Since the pandemic, the government has frozen the entry of foreign workers and has not allowed those who left on leave to return and work, Nageeb said.
“We hope it happens soon. There are many undocumented immigrants in the country, so this will help us. We made a great effort to try to hire locals, but the response was tepid, ”he said, adding that they had not yet received any official proposal on the program.
The Executive Director of the Malaysian Employers’ Federation, Datuk Shamsuddin Bardan, welcomed the government’s decision, saying that it is a win-win situation for both employers and foreign workers.
“This is something that the MEF has been fighting and proposing and the government accepted it since it froze the entry of new foreign workers.
“Although they are allowed to work, they must first meet all the criteria. The move to allow foreign workers to decide if they want to return is a win-win situation.
“Those who want to return can come forward. This will allow the government to control them instead of using illegal channels, ”he said.
Philippine Ambassador Charles C. Jose said the program was a positive development, but hoped it would also cover Sabah to benefit undocumented Filipinos working on oil palm and rubber plantations there.
“However, the full details of the plan have yet to be carefully studied,” he said.
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