THE Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) has expressed concern on the discontinuation of special quotas for the recruitment of foreign workers and urged Putrajaya to relook at the decision.

Its president Dr Syed Hussain Syed Husman said employers would not be able to meet their obligations towards their clients if special quotas are no longer provided.

“The discontinuation of special quotas for recruitment of foreign workers will derail efforts by the private sector to fast-track the economic recovery.

“The country’s economy was severely impacted by the prolonged Covid-19 epidemic and the recent severe floods, especially in the Klang Valley.

“We call on the government to urgently relook at the decision and allow employers to continue to have their special quotas of foreign workers based on their requirement,” said Hussain.

He was referring to Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin’s statement that there would be no more special quotas for the recruitment of foreign workers in the country.

The minister said every application from employers must now go through the ministry’s evaluation committee to determine the number of foreign workers eligible to be employed in accordance with the terms and conditions set.

“To get the additional workers you have applied for, you need to submit another application to the Human Resource Ministry or appeal to us for a review as the process is more stringent than before,” Hamzah had said on Saturday.

Previously, National Organisation of Private Service Agencies Malaysia (Papsma) secretary-general Dr Sukumaran Nair had called the government to abolish the “special approval” granted to certain parties to have a monopoly on the entry of foreign workers into the country to prevent syndicates from bringing in an excessive number of foreign workers.

Hussain also said that it was very critical for the country to put its the economic recovery efforts back on track, especially with the recent announcement by IMF that Vietnam had surpassed Malaysia to become the fourth largest economy in Southeast Asia.

“Based on IMF GDP data for 2020, Malaysia’s economy is now ranked sixth in Asean. Philippines and Singapore overtook Malaysia in 2015,” he added.

He added that the special quota system should be continued to enable businesses to have a ready supply of workforce to meet urgent needs.

He cited an example during the sudden outbreak of the Covid-19, glove manufacturing companies had to utilise special quotas approved by the Home Ministry to recruit more foreign workers to meet the sudden increase in demand for rubber gloves.

“MEF is of the view that quota should be sector-based and company demand-based. It is important to understand that if employers suffer, all within the supply chain will also suffer.

“We are trying to build back our business with all our reserves and provide employment to both locals and foreign labour.

“One must remember that the locals will suffer if the business suffers or closes down. We need foreign labour in the 3D (dangerous, dirty, difficult) sectors,” he said. – January 24, 2022.