FOREIGN worker management in Malaysia will now come under the Home Ministry, its minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said today.

He said stakeholders such as employers, associations and foreign workers do not need to worry about this policy change, which is expected to begin on January 15.

“This is because the realignment of these functions will not affect the procedure and flow of the existing foreign worker employment applications, considering the focus on the realignment is more on governance,” the home minister said in a joint press conference with Human Resources Minister V. Sivakumar at Putrajaya today.

Previously, the task was shared by both the ministries, causing confusion and delays for employers in hiring foreign workers.

Saifuddin said the role of the Human Resources Ministry will be strengthened in aspects of compliance to labour policy, determination of quota eligibility and finalisation and cooperation with source countries.

He said both ministries have agreed on the proposal to relax the conditions and procedures for foreign worker quota applications to an optimal level to balance the needs of economic development with the interests of national security.

“Among other things, this relaxation will include ongoing efforts to facilitate the evaluation of qualifications to employ foreign workers, scrutiny of quota approval conditions and immigration process and security screening,” he said.

“The details of this matter will be communicated to all stakeholders from time to time.”

Saifuddin said this could shorten the procedure of bringing foreign workers into the country to 30 days or fewer.

He claimed that the nation’s gross domestic product could increase by up to 1% in the first quarter of the year if the intake of foreign workers is expedited.

He said the government will ensure that the management of foreign workers is always based on the rule of law while the rights of migrant workers are protected.

He said as of December 31 last year, there were more than 1.4 million foreign workers on temporary work passes in the country.

He said most of them were in the manufacturing sector, followed by construction and services.

He said last year, Putrajaya approved 676,070 out of a total of 1,606,724 foreign worker quota applications. – January 5, 2023.