KUALA LUMPUR – The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers has urged the government to not impose fines of up to RM30,000 for each worker on companies that fail to employ migrant workers without a thorough investigation into the matter.
Its president Tan Sri Soh Thian Lai said it would be unfair to blame the employers without conducting a proper probe.
“Manufacturers are subjected to strict requirements from the (Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry) as the regulatory agency for the manufacturing sector, where employers must show proof of orders and demand from customers as justification for the number of foreign workers applied (for).
“These requirements ensure that the industry does not abuse the system and bring in an excessive number of workers,” he added.
His response comes in the wake of Plantations and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani’s proposal yesterday that fines be imposed on employers who fail to secure employment for their workers within a month of their arrival.
Claiming that there were major weaknesses in the entire recruitment process, Soh said they must be tackled and remedied immediately.
Soh also said that the action of bringing in workers without confirmed jobs was likely done by unscrupulous agents who engaged in fraudulent activities like falsifying applications to bring in the workers using genuine company credentials.
This is why, Soh said, no other ministry or agency should get involved in the process of determining employer eligibility in the recruitment process other than the one in charge, which was the Human Resources Ministry. He also called for a single end-to-end online system to ensure a holistic, fair and transparent administration of migrant workers in the country.
“In addition, the government agencies responsible for the border controls at entry points should be more vigilant and exercise proper controls when admitting documented workers,” he said.
The federation urged the government to resume the migrant worker application and approval process to cater for market-driven worker needs.
“Having a total and across-the-board halt in the foreign worker application and approval process will intensify the challenging business environment for our industries at this current juncture, which could impact the growth of our industries and the economy at large,” Soh said. – January 5, 2024