THE fee to hire undocumented migrants in Malaysia under the Labour Recalibration Programme (LRP) 2.0 will remain at RM1,500, Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said. 

“So far, there is no plan to reduce or abolish the fee, so it remains status quo,” he said in response to calls by the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers to review the fee.

On January 18, immigration director-general Khairul Dzaimee Daud said employers can start applying to recruit foreign workers through LRP 2.0 from January 27 until December 31. 

The eight sectors permitted to recruit foreign workers are manufacturing, construction, mining and quarrying, security, services, agriculture, plantation, and domestic help. 

The LRP, which initially ended on December 31, 2022, was created to regularise illegal immigrants in the country so they can be employed by qualified companies, subject to strict conditions set by the government through the Immigration Department and the Labour Department of Peninsular Malaysia.

The extension of the LRP and the creation of the Employment of Foreign Workers Relaxation Plan were among matters agreed to in a special meeting on foreign worker management chaired by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on January 10.

Saifuddin Nasution said the LRP aims to facilitate employers to hire undocumented migrants already in the country, which is cheaper than paying recruitment agencies to bring in foreign workers from source countries.

He said last year the government recorded over RM700 million in revenue through the programme.

As of January 22 this year, the Immigration Department had recorded 1,484,677 foreign workers holding temporary working visit passes, of which 446,229 are from Bangladesh, 399,827 from Indonesia, 285,768 from Nepal, 135,590 from Myanmar, and 81,002 from India. – Bernama, January 27, 2023.