PUTRAJAYA, June 27 — A total of 1,120 foreign workers who had entered the country under the Foreign Worker Employment Relaxation Plan were classified as unemployed, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
Describing this as a foreign labour dumping issue, he said most of the affected foreign workers were from Bangladesh and were brought to work in the cleaning and washing industry.
He said the foreign recruitment agencies or employers involved in bringing in the workers had been identified and action would be taken against them, including blacklisting their companies.
Speaking to reporters after chairing the committee meeting on the management of foreign workers, Saifuddin said the government would take initiatives to place foreign workers with new employers who would look after their welfare.
He said more than 400,000 foreign workers have been brought into Malaysia through the recalibration programme and about 100,000 more foreign workers are still needed to fill jobs in five critical sectors, namely construction, manufacturing, services, plantations and agriculture.
Meanwhile, he said the Ministry of Human Resources (KSM) has also tracked down employers or foreign recruitment agencies that have applied for quotas for foreign workers through the plan but have still advertised vacancies, especially on social media.
He said the matter will contribute to the dumping of foreign labour in the country and will also affect the country’s position in the US State Department’s annual report on human trafficking (US TIP Report).
Malaysia has been promoted from Tier 3 to Tier 2 Watch List. We will be observed to successfully comply with several issues, including combating elements of labour, he said.
