KUALA LUMPUR – Human Resources Minister Steven Sim (Bukit Mertajam-PH) has dismissed the idea that expatriates are disrupting job opportunities in Malaysia, noting that they make up just over 7% of the workforce.
Sim said that his ministry, through its agency TalentCorp, recorded the approval of 73,450 active passes by the Immigration Department for firms registered under the expatriate services division as of June 19.
“Based on this data, it demonstrates that expatriates do not jeopardise job opportunities for local employees.
“With the total number of active passes, expatriates make up only 7.07% of the workforce in Malaysia, compared to 92.93% for local employees,” he said in a written parliamentary reply yesterday.
Sim said 29,928 active passes from the total were under Category 1 (Expatriate Pass, or EPI), with 27,914 for Category 2 (EPII), 751 for Category 3 (EPIII) and 14,857 for field trip passes (PLIK/PVP).
The top five sectors involving the entries are manufacturing, construction, business services, education, and oil and gas, he added.
According to the expatriate services division on the Immigration Department’s website, EPI passes are designated for key positions within a company, such as executives and directors, with salaries exceeding RM10,000.
EPII passes are for professionals earning a minimum salary of RM5,000, while the EPIII category is for skilled and knowledgeable workers with a basic salary ranging from RM3,000 to RM4,999.
Sim was responding to Bersatu’s Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal (Machang-PN), who asked about the rationality of allowing the entry of professional expatriates from the IT sector into local industries.
Wan Fayhsal opined that, under current circumstances, there were many talented professionals in the sector among local youths. – July 12, 2024