THE issue of recruiting foreign workers from three countries is expected to be resolved soon, Human Resources Minister M. Saravanan said.

He said the final process is being refined and they included technical matters, recruitment procedures and the signing of memoranda between the agencies or parties of all countries involved.

Saravanan was speaking to reporters after presenting 100 laptops to B40 students to increase the marketability of graduates and also to bridge the digital divide among low-income earners.

The TalentCorp’s corporate social responsibility programme, among others, aims to ensure students are prepared for the post-Covid-19 work environment through the contribution of digital learning devices.

Elaborating further, Saravanan said so far, the ministry has received more than 200,000 online applications for foreign workers from Indonesia, Bangladesh and Cambodia for various sectors.

“The recruitment of workers from Indonesia involves procedures between the Manpower Ministry and a related agency in the neighbouring country.

“The process involving workers from Bangladesh has also been completed. One thing I have yet to finalise is Malaysia’s agreement with Cambodia to bring in Muslim maids.

“I will be there in July and will most likely settle it. Apart from Indonesia, Cambodia has a large number of domestic helpers from the Muslim community,” he said.

It was reported that the lack of workers is causing many business premises including restaurants, from operating 24 hours despite being able to do so after the country entered the transition to the endemic phase.

In this regard, the ministry decided to make some changes in terms of the implementation of the recruitment of foreign workers for employers. including quarantine, standard operating procedure, workers’ quarters, training, labour rights and others. – Bernama, June 7, 2022.