The Malaysian Insight

THERE are not many takers for Putrajaya’s programme to legalise foreign workers as employers are afraid they will flee after thousands of ringgit are spent to do so.

Employers told The Malaysian Insight it is difficult to ensure that the workers will stay for two years once they are legalised because the government is also allowing them to return to their countries.

They also said the time taken to process illegal workers is too long.

Federation of Vegetable Farmers’ Association of Malaysia president Lim Ser Kwee said the process of hiring or legalising foreign workers is not clear at the moment, so employers are taking the wait-and-see approach.

“It will take between RM4,000 and RM5,000 to legalise each foreign worker,” he said.

“There are no guarantees these workers won’t run away before the two-year contract expires.”

The legalisation programme, which opened on November 16 and continues until June 30 next year, allows undocumented migrants to apply, via their employers, to stay in the country and work legally in sectors deemed “difficult, dangerous or dirty”.

Only employers from four sectors – manufacturing, construction, agriculture and plantation – are eligible to apply.

Illegal workers may also choose to return to their source countries instead of continuing to work in Malaysia through a parallel programme, the repatriation recalibration plan, which runs for the same period and allows them to return home voluntarily.

The Immigration Department plan was hatched after Putrajaya’s freeze on the hiring of foreign workers following the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, and is aimed at prioritising jobs for locals. However, it led to complaints of worker shortage.

No information

Employers in the four sectors have also complained they have yet to receive any information regarding the scheme, and are confused about the procedures and criteria.

Lim said since the agriculture sector is often the last choice for illegal workers, it is pointless for employers to spend such money and bear the hassle of hiring foreigners.

The plantation sector is currently facing a critical shortage of some 62,000 employees.

It is difficult to attract illegal foreign workers to the plantation sector, as they prefer to work in the other more “attractive” sectors, such as manufacturing, construction or agriculture.

“So, what employers do these days is go to the ground to seek out illegals who are already working in the agriculture sector. This way, they can be assured that the workers will not run away, since they are already familiar with the job.”

Vegetable farmers are in a dilemma and urged the government to study the labour policies of neighbouring countries to improve Malaysia’s system so that these workers can be controlled better, he said.

SME Association of Malaysia president Michael Kang said the response to the programme is lukewarm mainly because the industry believed there is no need to legalise foreign workers due to the uncertain market.

“I don’t know the situation. There is talk that things may normalise by the middle of next year, so it is better to wait,” Kang said.

“The application procedure is also very troublesome. You need to register first and pay a deposit of RM500 before you apply for the legalisation process.

“It will take three months to go through the formalities. Are the foreign workers willing to wait for three months?”

 Kang said small- and medium-sized businesses are still facing a shortage of foreign workers.

“There are industries that need foreign workers but it is expensive to start the legalisation process.

“First, there is the deposit of RM500, then the fine of RM1,500 for overstaying.

“After legalisation, employers have to pay tax, insurance, Covid-19 screening, foreign worker visa, etc. It will come up to about RM5,000 per worker,” he said.

Quiet market

MEF executive director Shamsuddin Bardan said many employers are not keen because they are worried about being blacklisted for hiring illegal workers.

He also said there are employers keen to employ foreign workers, but because they do not have illegal workers who can be legalised, it is difficult for them to get fresh ones.

“The situation is still unclear because the overall details have not been officially announced,” Shamsuddin said.

“Moreover, during this conditional movement-control order (CMCO) period, the entire market is a bit quiet, and the demand for workers is low, except for the plantation sector and glove industry.

“Generally speaking, the demand for employees is relatively low.”

While there is a demand for migrant workers in the plantation sector, employers are finding it difficult to hire through formal channels.

Shamsuddin said employers in the plantation sector want workers from Indonesia instead of Bangladesh, but because Indonesia’s overall economy is improving, there is no reason for them to work here.

Earlier this week, the Human Resources Ministry said 113 employers have requested to hire 17,292 foreign workers through the new legalising programme.

The ministry said it will supervise the implementation of the programme to ensure that it won’t be abused by irresponsible parties. – November 30, 2020