THE government should walk the talk in doing away with agents in the recruitment of foreign workers, Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) president Marimuthu Nadason said.

He said the government, including the previous administration, has only been “all talk”, without producing an effective end result.

“Every administration only keeps saying this (doing away with the recruitment agents), but at the end of the day, it does not implement it.

“This time, it should be implemented,” Marimuthu told The Malaysian Insight.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said he wanted the Home Ministry to stop using agents to recruit foreign workers due to the high cost involved.

He cited the example of workers from Nepal, who cost employers only about RM3,700 per worker, compared with those from Bangladesh and Indonesia – where agents are involved – costing between RM20,000 and RM25,000 each worker.

The following day, Human Resources Minister V. Sivakumar said efforts are being made to ensure that no third party is profiting from the hiring of foreign workers.

He also said Putrajaya is looking at the best mechanism for employers to hire foreign workers without using an agency.

Marimuthu said middlemen and agents have been profiting from the foreign worker recruitment schemes for years.

“Removing this practice of engaging agents to recruit foreign workers will ensure that they are brought in at a lower cost, which in turn will benefit consumers,” he said.

“For example, if restaurants can get sufficient workers without all the red tape, probably the industry will have no problem lowering food prices.

“Even for maids, people end up paying absurd amounts to obtain one. If all these agencies and middlemen are done away with, consumers can save much.”

Yesterday, Malaysian Employers Federation president Syed Hussain Syed Husman said the decision to end the services of third-party agents will see savings of about 80% from the current cost in bringing in foreign workers.

He said cutting middlemen out of the recruitment process will end modern slavery and boost the image of Malaysian employers.

He said the high fees charged by the agents have long been the major cause of increased cost for foreign workers who want to work in Malaysia.

Due to the involvement of third-party agents, workers are forced to take high-interest loans or mortgage their properties to pay for the recruitment fees, thus putting them in “debt bondage”. – February 12, 2023.