HUMAN Resources Minister M. Saravanan should not make life difficult for business owners by complicating the hiring process of migrant workers, DAP chairman Lim Guan Eng said today. 

In welcoming the ministry’s move to lift the temporary freeze on hiring migrant workers, the Bagan MP called on the minister to improve the current application and hiring procedures.

“Saravanan should look at how to help, not harm, businesses, by making it more transparent and decentralised via the one-stop centre approach, and efficient too.

“Saravanan should also focus on cutting the red tape surrounding the many applications pending processing and approval, where the industry seeks an efficient system for quick turnaround,” he said in a statement today. 

On Sunday, Lim called on Saravanan to suspend himself for causing businesses unnecessary hardship by imposing a two-week suspension on the application for the recruitment of migrant workers from August 15-31. 

Lim, a former finance minister, said that Saravanan’s reversal was timely and that it saved the process from the brink of chaos. 

Saravanan said that all the earlier applications to hire some 400,000 foreign workers will proceed before the end of this month.

“This U-turn by Saravanan confirms that the two-week suspension or temporary freeze would hinder efforts by all industries to overcome the worker shortage,” he said, adding that there was a shortfall of 1.2 million workers the country needed to get back on its feet.

Last week, Malaysian Muslim Restaurant Owners Association (Presma) said about 1,500 Indian-Muslim restaurants are expected to close nationwide because they were unable to recruit new staff.  

“The lack of labour has caused 3,000 of 12,000 registered association members to close since the Covid-19 pandemic started more than two years ago.  

“The mamak restaurant industry needs at least 30,000 more workers to fill vacancies across the country,” Presma president Jawahar Ali Taib Khan said.

Meanwhile, the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers also said the application procedure should not be stopped because it would disrupt the nation’s economic recovery. – August 17, 2022.