NOW that the members of the cabinet and their deputies have been appointed, the government can go full steam in tackling the challenges the facing the country for the next five years. As someone who supports the unity government, I would like to offer a few pointers for the administration to urgently consider in order to win the public’s confidence and goodwill.

The Home Ministry for one needs to undergo serious change and transformation, especially at its immigration and foreign worker recruitment sections. I hope the new Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail will set up a small task force with the participation of civil society groups to look into ways of making various application processes customer-friendly and simplified. The government will do well to come up with an amnesty to legalise all undocumented foreign workers in the country. It also needs to get new workers in quickly to beat the recession predicted for next year. Providing these industries with the necessary workers will be a big boost against any economic slowdown and will prevent the socio-economic effects from snowballing.

Application for foreign workers need to be streamlined and simpler. For instance, small businesses should be allowed to apply for a small number of workers while larger businesses need to show both their business registration and income tax returns as proof to ensure that they do not abuse the process of  applying for more workers. With this system, most of the potential abuses can be overcome and employers can apply directly for the workers without the need for agents.

One of the main reasons for the high prices of agricultural produce is the lack of foreign labour. I believe the prices of certain consumer items that have increased will come down quickly if the government can get more foreign workers to perform manual and 3-D jobs. These workers are not depriving the locals who prefer better jobs and higher wages so the issue of  them causing unemployment for locals is does not exist.

Malaysia has plenty of agricultural potential and it should not concentrate only on oil palm, rubber and durian. A wide variety of vegetables and fruits can be grown in the country and there would be less need for imported food. There is so much of idle and unutilised land around the country. Agriculture and Food Security Minister, Mohamad Sabu, needs to act fast to open new farming areas and look into the factors causing the rise in the prices of agricultural produce, which is hurting the people. – December 12, 2022.

* V. Thomas reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.