KOTA KINABALU: Spouses of foreign workers in the state may be allowed to accompany them if the government finds it reasonable for them to do so.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman said that even though the State Government’s policy is not to allow spouses of foreign workers to accompany them, it does make consideration on a case to case basis.
Musa who was replying to opposition chief cum Klias assemblyman Datuk Seri Lajim Ukin yesterday said, “We do not refuse them entry outright, we will consider their applications on a case to case basis.”
Lajim had asked the Chief Minister on whether the State Government will allow the spouse of a foreign worker to enter Sabah for the purpose of employment here.
To this Musa replied, “We will go through the application sent to the Chief Minister’s Department and if we feel that the reason(s) given is reasonable, we will give consideration”.
Earlier Minister of Special Tasks Datuk Teo Chee Kang, when replying to Tamparuli assemblyman Datuk Seri Panglima Wilfred Bumburing’s question on whether the State Government will review its policy on allowing spouses to accompany foreign workers in Sabah, said that the reason for the policy is to prevent the influx of foreigners into the state.
“The government’s policy is not to allow family members of a foreign worker to accompany the individual here. One of the reasons is to prevent the influx of immigrants from foreign countries to the state, that is one of the rationales where we have such a policy,” he said.
Teo also disclosed that foreign workers wishing to work in Sabah must also get approval from the State Government.
Other than the work permit from the federal Manpower Department and the Immigration Department, the individual must also obtain the permission to work here from the Chief Minister’s Department.
“So while the Immigration Department processes the work permit application, the application must also be referred to the Chief Minister’s Department. Only in cases where the Chief Minister’s Department’s permission is obtained will the work pass be issued,” he said.
In reply to Luyang assemblyman Dr Hiew King Cheu, Sri Tanjung assemblyman Chan Foong Hin and Kuala Penyu assemblyman Limus Jury’s questions with regards to increasing the quota for foreign workers in the state, Teo said that every approval of the quota is based on the guide and formula outlined.
“The State Government is always reviewing the necessity and methods used to recruit foreign workers to ensure that they continue to be relevant according to market needs,” he said, adding that the State Government allows recruitment of workers from five source countries, namely, Indonesia, the Philippines, Myanmar, Nepal and Cambodia to meet the needs in the plantation, agriculture, construction, manufacturing and service sectors.
He also disclosed that the state Immigration Department’s Visa and Pass division had from January 2014 to February 2015 issued a total of 5,817 work passes for expatriates, 976 social pass (temporary employment) for chefs and 1,098 Visitor’s Pass for those in the spa and reflexology sector.
During the same time period, the state Immigration Department had also issued 10,715 work passes to house maids, 32,539 passes for workers in the agriculture sector, 14,235 passes for the manufacturing sector, 10,559 passes in the construction sector, 95,186 passes in the estate sector and 3,536 passes in the service sector.
From January 2014 to February 2015, 1,467 expatriate passes were issued to Indonesians, followed by 1,211 to China nationals and 617 to India nationals, he said, adding that a total of 844 temporary work passes were issued to India nationals employed as cooks in the state followed by 65 Indonesians and 26 China nationals.
The issuance of social pass (temporary work permit) to China nationals to be employed as masseuses in Sabah from January 2014 to February 2015 totaled 761 followed by 191 for Filipinos and 124 for Thailand nationals.