THERE are 98 business premises in Bukit Mertajam that are being managed by foreigners, said the Seberang Perai City Council (MBSP).

The MBSP, in an email to The Malaysian Insight, said it discovered this fact after conducting investigations in Jalan Datuk Ooh Chooi Cheng and The Summit mall.

This was in response to The Malaysian Insight’s report that foreigners run the show at Bukit Mertajam mall.

“According to records, a total of 98 business premises in the Bukit Mertajam town area, including The Summit, are managed by foreigners either as business owners or assistants/workers for local businesses.

“From these statistics, only four business licenses were issued to foreigners while the rest were issued to local business owners. Such licenses are applied when their company is registered under Sdn Bhd.”

The business licenses issued to foreigners are for Magmatrans (M) Sdn Bhd, Yousaf Fantastic Sdn Bhd and Barakath International Trading Sdn Bhd.

“MBSP does not prevent the issuance of licence to a foreign individual if the company is registered with the Companies Commission of Malaysia.

“This is because Penang and Seberang Perai, in particular, are an economically oriented state that is open to foreign investors.”

However, the city council said it has put certain measures in place to prevent businesses from being abused by foreigners.

These includes establishing recruitment policies for foreign and domestic workers as part of a licensing requirement, such as requiring 30% of the workers to be Malaysian citizens.

It also forbids business owners from hiring foreign workers without valid employment permits.

In addition to that, business licences cannot be assigned, sold or leased to foreigners without MBSP approval.

Apart from regular inspections, MBSP has also taken to court business owners who operate without licences, it said.

It said inter-agency monitoring along with the Immigration Department, state Health Department and the National Anti-Drug Agency are carried out at foreign focused business locations.

A special working team has also been set up to look into the foreign business issues in Seberang Perai. – December 30, 2019.