Sabah mulls letting foreign workers bring family members over


Jason Santos

SABAH plans to allow migrant workers in the plantation sector to bring their spouses and children with them, Chief Minister Shafie Apdal said today.

This was in response to demands from plantation owners in the east coast of Sabah who were in need of more workers, he said.

Under existing laws, migrants are not allowed to bring their wives or family members with them when they gain employment in Malaysia. 

Shafie said a committee under the State Security Council will look into the matter to ensure all workers and their families are screened.

“This will allow us to give them special documents. It will also allow us overcome certain barriers, such as them not being allowed to bring their wives or families over,” he said after chairing a State Security Council meeting today. 

He said the special documents would be work passes and not permanent identification documents.

The committee studying the issue will be chaired by State Secretary Sukarti Wakiman.

Based on Immigration Department statistics last year, of 137,676 migrants working in various sectors in Sabah, 76,603 are in the plantation sector. – June 26, 2018.


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Comments


  • Moron!!! Clean up Project IC first-lah! Allowing them to bring in their families will most likely ensure they will settle permanently here!!! Then we had to pay them BR1M and provide other social services to their spouses and children. But currently, they had to go back to their home countries after their contracts finished, NO OTHER countries in the world did what you are proposing. An IDIOTIC CM !!!!

    Posted 7 years ago by Malaysian First · Reply

    • Are you DEVIOUSLY trying to bring your SULUK clan and relatives over? First we have Tun changing the demographics of Sabah ...... now you are making it worse!!!

      Posted 7 years ago by Malaysian First · Reply

    • We had the "White Rajah" changing Syrian Arabs to Malaysian Melanau Bumiputeras. Are you trying to follow his example?

      Posted 7 years ago by Malaysian First · Reply

  • How can bringing spouses and children increase the work force? Child labour? Wives will NOT be working .... had to take care of families. CM is an idiot!!

    Posted 7 years ago by Malaysian First · Reply